


You'll Never Know

by inmyrosegarden



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-21
Updated: 2013-04-06
Packaged: 2017-11-19 05:27:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 56,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/569601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inmyrosegarden/pseuds/inmyrosegarden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fic on AO3 and it was originally posted on my tumblr. I hope you enjoy it! Comments are always appreciated :))
> 
> Also, thank you to teamrepairboy for the lovely banner!!!!!!! :))
> 
> tumblr: txmlinsxn
> 
> [Polish translation](http://fanfiction-by-vanilla.tumblr.com/post/66889200454/youll-never-know-masterpost)

 

“As you all know, the spring Sports Awards will be held in the auditorium,” the Headmistress drones on the morning announcements. “And I’d like to thank Louis Tomlinson for taking on the role of supervisor. It looks like a great program and I hope to see all of you students there!”

Louis squirms in his seat awkwardly. The reason he _organizes_ these events is because he’s “behind the scenes.” He _detests_ being put on the spot.

But leave it to the Headmistress to do _just that._

Louis feels the heat crawl up his neck and to his cheeks. He keeps his head down and his eyes focused on the papers in front of him, avoiding the stares of his classmates that he can feel boring into his back.

“Alright class,” Mr. Adams begins in his monotonous voice. “Turn to chapter 13 in your textbooks. Today we will be discussing—“

The door suddenly opens, and in walks a harried Harry Styles. Louis’ heart leaps.

“Sorry I’m late Sir, mum got stuck in traffic and it’s a shame I had to miss the beginning of your class because it _is_ my favorite and—“

“That’s enough Mr. Styles,” the teacher says without an ounce of emotion. “Please take your seat and turn to chapter 13.”

The rest of the students in the class (except for Louis, naturally), snicker. Harry throws them a smirk and a wink and mumbles a, “Yes sir,” before walking towards his seat.

Which is located _right_ in front of Louis (naturally).

Louis focuses his vision solely on the textbook in front of him. He concentrates so hard on the words that he feels as though his eyes are going to fall out of their sockets because of the strain he’s putting on them. He only dares to look up when he hears the sound of Harry sitting down in the seat in front of him. His nose is met with a whiff of cologne and his eyes with the chiseled back muscles that could only belong to one boy.

“Mr. Tomlinson, will you begin reading from the top of page 445 for us please,” the teacher says unenthusiastically.

Louis snaps his head up from where he was admiring Harry’s back muscles, to look at Mr. Adams. “Yes sir,” he says quietly.

And then he begins to read out loud. It is quite difficult to focus on getting the words out because his heart is still beating rapidly in his chest. But then again, _when is it not_ when Harry Styles is in the room?

He finishes the paragraph and stops reading. The teacher continues with the lesson. And through the remainder of the class the one thing Louis hopes for never happens, because Harry Styles doesn’t notice him. Not once.

His cheeks grow warm at the thought. His crush is _so_ embarrassing.

***

At the end of the day, Louis rushes to the school auditorium. Since he is in charge of the awards ceremony, he has to be there the earliest to make sure everything is ready, proper, and in place. And being the perfectionist that he is, Louis checks everything, from the cleanliness of the stage to the correctness of the seating arrangements. Twice.

As more and more people started filing in, Louis steps out of the auditorium and runs to his locker to get a change of clothes. He hates his school’s uniform. Why spend extra time in it?

He walks over to the toilet and changes into tight navy pants and a black and white striped shirt with a black cardigan. He adjusts his glasses where they are perched on his nose, fixes his fringe, and makes his way back into the auditorium.

Back stage, the Headmistress is impatiently tapping her foot against the wooden floor. When she spots Louis, relief passes over her face.

“There you are!” she hisses. “I’ve gone mental looking everywhere for you!”

“Sorry, I just went to change my cloth—“

“No time for explanations!” she cries. Louis cringes at her volume. He’s sure the crowd can hear her hissy fit.

“Now look, Louis. Shelby, here, will be the…” she pauses to look around the small room. “SHELBY!?” she yells.

The door suddenly opens and in runs a petite brunette. She is holding about 10 books in one hand and an athletic bag in the other. “Sorry!” she squeaks, as she sets her things down by her feet. “Cheer practice went late and I had to get my books from—“

The Headmistress puts up a hand, causing the very out of breath girl to stop mid sentence. She takes in a deep breath and hands a couple of papers to the cheerleader.

“Louis, as I was saying. Shelby here is going to be the emcee for the awards. Your job is to make sure that the curtains get drawn, the lighting is fine, and that everything else is in order. If you do this correctly, I will write you _the_ most pristine University recommendation. Got it?”

Louis nods. “Yes ma’am.”

“Good. Well I’ll see you both after the ceremony then.” And with that, the Headmistress scurries away.

Shelby collapses to the floor and lets out a groan. “I am _so_ sorry I’m late Louis,” she sighs and starts placing her books inside her bag. “I knew I should’ve never signed up for this. I’m so nervous that I’ll mess up!”

Louis smiles and kneels down next to her, helping her pick up the remainder of her books and papers off of the ground. “You’ll be fine,” he says sweetly. “And besides, I bet all of the athletes out there love you anyway. You cheer right? Isn’t that supposed to make you loved by everyone at the school by default?” He questions sarcastically.

Hearing his tone, Shelby snorts. “I _wish_ it were like that! I’m still invisible to the one person who I actually _want_ noticing me.” She shakes her head and sighs.

“Story of my life,” Louis mumbles.

“Hmm?”

“I said, who do you mean?”

Shelby pauses for a moment and then stands up. Louis follows suit. She bites her lip and looks around the room. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I feel like I can trust you, if that even makes sense since we don’t really know each other too well? But you need to _promise_ you won’t tell anyone.”

“Yeah, of course. I promise,” Louis says sincerely.

Shelby hesitates and sighs. “It’s Niall Horan.”

Louis laughs. “I can totally picture you guys together!”

Shelby looks shell shocked. “Are you serious!?”

“Yeah! He needs someone nice and sweet like you anyway. All his football mates have stuck up girlfriends and he’s such a good lad. I think he deserves you.” He winks.

Shelby’s eyebrows rise. “That is seriously the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. My friends don’t give me too much love. They all just compete with me. So thank you, Louis.”

Louis beams. “You’re welcome. I’m only saying the truth though.”

Shelby laughs and looks at the clock. “Wow okay. Two minutes to go.” She takes deep breaths in and out. “Wish me luck?”

“Good luck!” Louis exclaims. They both walk closer to the stage, Louis stopping near the string of the curtains and Shelby pausing with him.

“Okay,” she says, more to herself than to Louis. She suddenly turns to him with her arms outstretched. Louis smiles and returns the hug, kind of shocked at how friendly the girl is. “Go get ‘em,” he chuckles and Shelby laughs with him.

Louis lets her go and moves to draw the curtains. The audience begins to applaud and Shelby walks out on to the stage.

She steps to the podium and begins the script Louis has written. Louis smiles. She’s a natural.

***

After the presentation of the awards for each individual player, Shelby announces the MVP of the year. And surprise, surprise: it’s Harry Styles. Louis blushes as Shelby begins to read what he has written about the other boy. It sounds sort of sappy and really _gay,_ evento Louis’ own ears and he thinks he cringes throughout the whole introduction.  As soon as she finishes, he sighs a breath of relief, but his heart starts stuttering again when she says, “Give it up for Harry Styles!”

The audience goes mad with applause, and although Louis can’t see them, he knows Harry is being given a standing ovation. And as soon as he thinks of the other boy, Harry is taking long strides up the stairs of the stage on the opposite side of where Louis is standing.

Harry’s all smiles. He has the decency to look embarrassed, which is depicted by how his face is sort of flushed. Nevertheless, he looks breathtaking, Louis thinks. His dimples are in full effect and his curls looks perfectly tousled. He’s wearing black skinny jeans and a white button down shirt with a black tie.

Louis thinks he may _actually_ be swooning. But he regains his composure after Shelby comes to stand next to him. Harry takes to the podium and begins his little speech, thanking all of his fellow footballers and classmates for their support this season. He sounds so earnest and sweet and Louis sure all hell _hopes_ that Shelby can’t hear the beat of his heart over Harry’s voice.

Harry begins concluding his speech, but then, “Oh!” he says. “I almost forgot! I wanted to thank the person who organized the whole event. He’s an absolutely _wonderful_ person who does so much for our school and I don’t think he gets enough credit.” Harry hesitates and looks over to where Louis is standing.

Louis’ mouth is hanging open because he is _shocked_ and has probably never been so shocked in his entire life. Did Harry Styles just _acknowledge_ his existence?! Moreover, in front of _hundreds_ of people!?

“Louis,” Harry says softly. “Could you come here for a moment?”

“N-no, I’m fine,” Louis replies, barely loud enough to hear. Shelby rolls her eyes and grabs Louis’ arm, dragging him onto the stage.

“Louis Tomlinson, everybody!” Harry says into the microphone. His dimples are showing again and Louis feels the blush rush to his cheeks. He turns to face the audience, who are now applauding—for _him,_ he realizes—and waves meekly. Harry leaves the podium to stand next to Louis, and as Shelby thanks the audience and directs them to the refreshments in the cafeteria, Harry puts his arm lightly around Louis’ shoulder.

Startled, Louis tries to control his heartbeat and his expression. He looks up at Harry who’s grinning at him—with _teeth_ , oh my—and he smiles back at him.

Finally, after reaching the end of the program, the three walk back behind the stage.

As Louis struggles to find his voice, he hears Harry say something to him that he misses over because he is so dazed. “Sorry?” he asks, bewildered that he’s still being spoken to.

“Oh, I was just saying, I’m throwing a party tomorrow in celebration of the end of the season,” Harry says slowly. “You two should come!”

Shelby looks to Louis and raises her eyebrows. “I’ll come if Louis does.”

Louis shoots her a puzzled look, remembering that they were hardly even friends before the awards show.

“C’mon Louis! You’ll have fun!” Harry exclaims, smiling brightly down at Louis.

“Erm,” Louis says as he deliberates. “I guess I can swing by?”

“Great!” Harry says and he looks genuinely happy. “Give me your number and I’ll text you my address.” Harry all but shoves the phone in Louis’ hands.

Louis feels like his heart is in his throat, but nonetheless, he programs his number into Harry’s phone.

As he hands him back the phone, Harry looks around, noticing the lack of conversation from the inside of the auditorium. “Alright, I should probably get going. Don’t want to keep my parents waiting. See you tomorrow Louis. Oh, and you too Shelby.” And with a smile, he’s gone.

Louis glances over at Shelby who’s still looking at him with her eyebrows raised. “You like him.” She states.

“SHHHH!” Louis exclaims. He glances around the room, and then, “What makes you say that?”

Shelby laughs, “Oh c’mon Lou, it’s not a bad thing! It’s quite cute! I can totally tell though. The way you look at him is probably worse than how I look at Niall.”

“I don’t like him though!” Louis blushes furiously, knowing that his pleas are useless.

“Pfft, okay _sure_ you don’t,” she rolls her eyes. “I’m going to pick you up tomorrow and we’re going to go to that party. I’ll be your Harry wingwoman if you be Niall wingman?” She asks, sounding hopeful.

Louis sighs. “Alright. But I’m only going to set you up with Niall.”

“Yay!” Shelby claps, and Louis laughs. “Now give me your number, and I’ll text you for your address tomorrow!” She chirps.

Louis smiles fondly and tells her his number as she adds him to her contacts. He awkwardly thinks that he’s never given his number to anyone in the school much less _two_ people in one day.

He shakes his head and Shelby gives him another hug after picking up her bags. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she says over her shoulder.

And with that Louis is, once again, alone.

He looks around the room once, glad that he doesn’t have to clean up, and heads over to his locker, grabbing his school bag. Exiting the school, he puts in his iPod headphones and walks over to the bus stop. Two Door Cinema Club starts playing and he smiles to himself, mulling over the odd day he’s had.

As the bus approaches, Louis realizes that the next day will most probably be _much_ odder.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that left a kudos on the last chapter! I really can't even believe anyone is reading this! If you want to chat, c'mon over to my tumblr :))
> 
> tumblr: burberrharry

"Louis," someone murmurs next to the boy’s ear, lightly shaking his shoulder to get his attention.

  
"Mmfff"," Louis says, rolling over in his bed.  
  
"Baby wake up. I'm going to work."  
  
Louis sighs, opening his glassy blue eyes one by one. "Mum?" he questions quietly.  
  
"Yeah babe. Are you up?"  
  
"Yep." Louis sits up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and reaching for his glasses.  
  
"Alright doll. It's half eight. I've left a list of chores on the kitchen counter and the grocery list is on the fridge. I'll be back late so don't wait up."  
  
Louis nods, still quite drowsy. "Will do." He thinks for a moment. "Erm...mum?"  
  
"Yes boo?"  
  
"Well y'know Harry from school?"  
  
Jay raises her eyebrows. "You mean _the_ Harry from school?"  
  
Louis snorts. "Yup that's the one. Well he kind of invited me to a party at his place tonight. And my friend Shelby's sort of pushing me to go. And I know it's gonna get late and I know it's a typical high school party but mum I'd really like to go because Harry wants me there and--"  
  
"Lou!" Jay chuckles. "Of course you can go! Actually, if Harry invited you, you _have_ to go! This is great! To think, just last Saturday you were wallowing over how he doesn't even know you exist! And now he's invited you to a party! Babe," Jay coos.  
  
Louis feels the blush on his face. He rolls his eyes, trying to salvage the little dignity he had left, but his mother sees through it. She laughs and pinches his cheeks.  
  
"Well I'll see you tomorrow then. Don't party too hard." Jay winks at her boy and gets up to leave his room.  
  
When she reaches the end of the hall she yells, "Be safe Louis!" and laughs when she hears his groan loud and clear.  
  
Louis face palms and takes in a couple of deep breaths, shakily letting them out.  
  
As soon as he hears the door shut behind his mum, Louis sinks back into bed, bringing his comforter over his face.  
  
He’s really close with his mum. His dad walked out on them when Louis was only 5 years old. And ever since then, being the only child, Louis felt like it was his duty to protect his mum from harm.  
  
Louis recollects a particularly fond memory from when he was only 7, and very much naive.

\------

  
Louis runs down the stairs, gripping his power ranger action figure tightly. He’s pretending to be on a top secret spy mission.

He inches closer and closer to the door frame of the living room.  
  
Louis can hear the TV on. He peeks over the door frame and sees the blue glow of the TV painted along the walls of the room.  
  
He leans back against the wall outside the living room. He can hear screams coming from the TV. _Oh no,_ Louis thinks. _Mum’s in danger._ __  
  
He pushes his glasses further up his nose and counts to three under his breath.  
  
"One...two..." he murmurs. Then, "THREE!" He screams.  
  
And with that, Louis bounds into the living room where his mum was hiding her smile behind her hands. She had seen him poke his head thorough the door and thought she should play along with her son’s games.  
  
"Don't watch this program, mum." Louis says in a leveled tone. "It'll give you nightmares!" He turns to the TV and turns it off.  
  
"Oh thank you Louis! You've saved me!” Jay exaggerates.   
  
Louis giggles, grinning from ear to ear. "My pleasure madam,” he says, taking a bow.   
  
"Oooh, Madam huh? Someone's been up to some learning, hmm?"  
  
Louis smiles cheekily and walks over to his mother, sitting down in her lap. He buries his face in her neck and embraces the warmth and safety he feels whilst being with her.

\------

  
Louis never had many friends at school. He was always shy and quiet around kids his age. He felt uncomfortable when someone tried to approach him, for reasons unbeknownst to him and his mother.  
  
But his mum loved him no irrevocably. Hence why, when he came out, she cried tears of joy. She told him that all she wanted for him was happiness, no matter where he found it or with whom. And that made Louis happier than she would ever know.  
  
Louis always felt different from his peers at school, and not just because he was gay. He started realizing, as the years went by, that he thought differently than the kids at school. He read books all the time and found great interest in his studies. While his peers enjoyed playing sports outside, Louis loved spending his time indoors, reading the works of a brilliant author.  
  
Because he was always reading and intricately thinking, kids never took time to warm up to him. They always assumed that he was arrogant and cocky, when in reality, Louis was just too shy to approach anyone himself.  
  
When Louis was 11, his mum made him join a book club that was sponsored by the local library. And even though he was hesitant at first, Louis began going to meetings frequently. And at those meetings, he began recognizing the faces of two boys who looked around his age.  
  
They were called Liam and Zayn and they had been friends since--well basically since birth. They were, in fact, Louis’ age. But they went to school across town.  
  
Zayn was incredibly intelligent and understood everything Louis said. And Liam was sensible and kind, and since he was used to being around Zayn, he very quickly warmed up to Louis and his “marvelous mind,” as Liam called it.   
  
The three remained a tight knit trio all throughout their teen years.

  
Of course, Louis eventually gets out of bed. And before making his way to the toilet, he grabs his phone and texts his friends.  
  
He had caught them up on the previous day’s events after he got home from school. And since both boys knew of his immense crush on Harry, they were as over the moon as Louis was.  
  
Now that Louis thinks about it, it seems like the three people he moaned to about Harry and his perfectness were _more_ excited for Louis than he was for himself. It’s probably because they think that someone will happen between him and Harry, causing Louis to stop talking about other boy.  
  
But Louis knows--and his friends know (including his mum because his mum was one of his best friends, as odd as it seemed)-- that Harry is straight. Louis had seen him with girls--and many of them too. And it kind of stung knowing that his long time crush would inevitably go to waste.  
  
So Louis, throughout the day of the party, tries not to get his hopes up.  
  
Oh and he also tries not to shat himself at the prospect of being inside Harry's house.  
  
In Harry's company.  
  
Outside if school.  
  
"Christ," Louis says to himself. He is standing in the bathroom in front of the mirror, looking at himself and reevaluating his life.  
  
How sad that a crush had taken over his thoughts completely.  
  
He splashes some cold water on his face and exits the bathroom, heading over to his closet to pick out some clean jeans and a striped shirt.  
  
After walking downstairs and into the kitchen, Louis grabs a warm croissant from the tray on the stove, making a mental note to thank his mother when he saw her the next morning.  
  
Taking the grocery list from the fridge door, Louis locks up the house and hops on his bike, heading over to the local Sainsbury's.  
  
30 minutes later and Louis had found everything on the list except for the special organic yogurt his mum requested. He’s awkwardly standing in the dairy isle looking at the many yogurts, unable to find the one brand that his mum wanted.  
  
Louis inhales deeply and pushes his glasses up. Suddenly he hears laughter to the right of him.  
  
Curiously, he turns his head in the direction of the laughter.  
  
And he regrets it instantly.  
  
Because Harry Styles is openly staring at him whilst grinning massively. The grin is so big that Louis can easily see the boy’s two _adorable_ dimples (snap out of it Louis).   
  
Louis opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. Chuckling, Harry asks, "Why are you concentrating so hard on the yogurts?" By the looks of it, he’s trying not to laugh again.  
  
Louis barely hears himself over the sound of his own heartbeat. Nevertheless, he attempts a response that he thinks won’t scare the other boy off.  
  
"My mum’s told me to get a specific kind." Louis scratches the back of his neck. "And I can't quite seem to find it."  
  
Harry smiles at him and moves closer. "Maybe I can help?"  
  
"Erm," Louis attempts to say something but instead, he just holds out the list awkwardly.  
  
Harry takes it from Louis and studies it very intently, brow furrowing. Louis almost faints from the adorable.  
  
"Oh," Harry says. Then he looks up and points at the top shelf--which Louis didn't even know existed. "That's where they keep the organic dairy stuff so it should be right--" Harry inches forward and scans through items, "--aha! Here." He grabs a packet of the yogurt—with _just_ one hand, making Louis' stomach flip flop at how _huge_ Harry's hands are--and hands it to Louis, beaming at him in the process.  
  
Louis is rendered speechless. But before his infatuation is made any more clear, he clears his throat and squeaks a "wow thanks."  
  
"No problemo," Harry replies, shifting from the balls of his feet to the heels. "Has your mum got you shopping for her too?"  
  
Louis chuckles. "Actually, yeah. She works longs hours so I figure it's the least I can do for her anyway." He looks down at his shoes, pleasantly surprised at how he managed to say something to Harry Styles without getting tongue tied.  
  
He looks up and back at Harry, who was narrowing his eyes at Louis. "What?" Louis asks, suddenly uncomfortable. He can feel the flush on his face.  
  
"Nothing it's just...that's exactly why I do it for my mum." Harry looks at Louis, giving the other boy a once over. "I guess I'm a mama’s boy?"  
  
Louis smiles. "Me too! But I honestly never pegged Harry Styles to be a mama’s boy."  
  
Harry grins again. "Well there's a lot you don't know about me, Tomlinson."  
  
 _Not likely_ , Louis thinks.  
  
But out loud he replies, "likewise, Styles." Once again he was utterly shocked at how easily he could banter with the other boy.  
  
"We should exchange secrets tonight then," Harry almost whispers, winking at Louis, whose heart, at this point, is _very_ close to failing. He feels like he is going to fall over from excitement.  
  
"Tonight?" He asks very dumbly, before he can think.  
  
"Yes tonight," Harry says rolling his eyes. "My party?" Then very seriously he adds, "you _are_ coming, right?"  
  
Louis momentarily forgot how to breathe. Was he just imaging things or did it actually sound like Harry Styles _wanted_ him to be at his party?  
  
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Louis says, smiling shyly (and obviously blushing as well).  
  
This seems to affect Harry more than Louis thought it would, for the curly haired boy lets out a, "hooray!"  
  
Louis chuckles. "You're not going to embarrass me in front of the whole school, are you?" He’s only half joking.  
  
Harry seems to sense the actual fear behind Louis' words. "I'd never do that! C'mon Lou. I thought we were friends?" Harry frowns.  
  
Louis’ heart surges at the nickname. And the fact that Harry had just called them _friends_. "Erm," he hesitates. "It's not _you_ I'm worried about its just--" Louis pauses, looking for the right words. "Most people at our school don't like me. And that kind of…scares me?"  
  
Harry, whose brow was furrowed again, continues to frown. "I don't understand how someone could dislike you. You’re so--" Harry waves a hand around, gesturing vaguely at nothing particular. "Well I'm not going to let anyone touch you. I can be your body guard or something. They'll have to go through _me_ if they wanna get to you." He lifts his arm in an attempt to show off the muscles of his biceps. Louis giggles (quite girlishly, ugh).  
  
"So does this mean you'll come for sure then?" Harry wiggles his eyebrows.  
  
Louis smiles. "Yes Harry, if it means this much to you. I'll be there."  
  
"Good," Harry says seemingly pleased with himself.  
  
Louis suddenly remembers his new friend. "Oh! Harry. Will Niall be there?"  
  
"Niall?" Harry questions, confused. "Yeah, he's my mate; of course he'll be there. Why?"  
  
"You know Shelby right?" Harry nods. "Well she kinda has this thing for him and I was wondering if you could help me set them up?" Louis winces, knowing he’s asking a lot of the green eyed boy.  
  
Harry hums in approval. "Y'know what? I actually think he'll be over the moon if we do that. Is Shelby coming tonight?"  
  
This time it was Louis' turn to nod. "Okay Lou, I'll text you where to meet us. Be there at 10.30."  
  
"Alright will do," Louis replies softly.  
  
Just then Harry's phone vibratexs-so loudly that Louis heard it from where he was standing. Harry pulls it out and looks at the message. "I should get going now," he says, distracted. "My girlfriend’s being a pain. See ya tonight Lou!" And with that, Harry is gone. Louis gulps trying to make the lump in his throat go down.   
  
The perfect Harry Styles. So kind and genuine and funny and ugh. Of course he had a girlfriend.  
  
Louis sighs and reaches into his pocket for the grocery list. When his hand comes back up without the list, he realizes that he had forgotten to get it back from Harry. He rolls his eyes at himself and walks to the cash register, happy to have gotten everything on the list before the yogurt predicament.  
  
***  
  
It is now 9.45 PM and Louis is confused. He has been standing in front of his closet for half an hour, trying to figure out what to wear. _I'm such a girl_ , he thinks to himself for the millionth time that night.  
  
His phone beeps on his bed and he walks over to it, reading the text from Shelby. She had been keeping him busy with her texting ever since he gave her his number the evening before. But in all honesty, Louis quite liked it. The constant buzzing of his phone made him think that _maybe_ he was important (not likely, though).  
  
 _"Open the door I'm here!!!!!!"_ Shelby has texted. Louis winces. She’s early and he hasn't even decided on what outfit to wear.  
  
Taking off the towel from around his waist--that he didn't even bother to take off after his shower--Louis shrugs on a sweatshirt and some shorts and runs down the stairs to open the front door.  
  
He’s met with a very cute looking Shelby. "Looking good," he nods in approval. After texting the girl nonstop for the past 24 hours, he feels like he actually knows her; like they’re actually friends.  
  
"I would say the same but you're a right mess," Shelby sighs, falling into Louis' arms for a quick embrace. "Alright drama queen, let’s see what we can find ya."  
  
Louis snorts and leads the girl upstairs to his room. The thought suddenly occurs to him that no one--except for Zayn and Liam and his mum--has been up there before. Louis becomes anxious; he doesn’t know what the girl will think, and that makes him antsy.  
  
But as soon as he opens the door, Shelby lets out an "Oooh," and walks right in, giving herself a tour of the room. "I like it, Lou!"  
  
Louis smiles. "Alright Shelly. What am I supposed to wear?" He motions towards his closet.  
  
Shelby walks over to it and her jaw drops. "What do you MEAN what am I supposed to wear!? You own more clothes than I do!"  
  
"That's the problem!" Louis exclaims, falling backwards on his bed. "I'm not good with too many options."  
  
Shelby tsks. "I thought you were supposed to be a genius," she mutters and ducks when Louis throws a throw pillow at her.

Louis thinks about Harry’s words from that morning. He wonders whether or not the boy will even acknowledge Louis’ existence at his party. After all, Harry is popular and Louis is a nobody.

Before he can get weepy, he sits up and looks over at Shelby who, as it turns out, is ready with an outfit, turning to face him. “Look!” she squeals. “Harry will _eat you up_ after he sees you in this.”

Louis considers the clothes before him. Shelby has chosen a pair of bright red jeans and a maroon shirt with horizontal white stripes. Louis hums appreciatively. He quite likes the outfit.

“Yes finally! Okay Lou, you’ve got 20 minutes to dress and groom. In the meantime, I will be here keeping your bed warm.” Shelby jumps in Louis’ bed pulling the comforter over her body. “Go go go go!”

‘I’m going!” Louis replies, walking into his bathroom. Once there, he strips and pulls on the clothes Shelby picked out for him. After spritzing on some cologne and fixing his hair as best as he could, he goes back out to his room, doing a 360 degree spin for a patiently awaiting Shelby.

“Mhm…mhm….mhmmm,” she strokes an imaginary beard. “I like it! And Harry will love it! So let’s go!” She hops out of Louis’ bed and fixes her hair in the mirror. “Does my bum look okay?” she asks innocently.

Louis giggles. “Yes, Shelly, your bum looks fine.” Then he turns around. “What about mine?”

Shelby sighs. “Yours looks better than mine ever will.” And with that, she is out the door, Louis giggling and hot on her heels.

***

The two arrive at the part at 10.35 PM. Fashionably late, Louis thinks. On the walk over to Harry’s house, Louis feels like he’s going to be sick.

Shelby keeps a normal conversation going, which Louis is not even pretending to listen to. He cannot comprehend how she keeps her nerves at bay.

As they get closer and closer to Harry’s house, the music becomes louder and louder. When they’re two houses away, they can see the mess that was Harry’s lawn. There are beer bottles everywhere and people milling about, either drunk or high.

“Shelby,” Louis whimpers. “This isn’t my scene. I shouldn’t be here.” he stops, dead in his tracks.

Shelby turns around and looks at Louis dead in the eye. “Harry wants you here. You’re going to be here. That’s it, end of discussion.”

“But he has a girlfriend,” Louis whines.

“His girlfriend’s a bitch and you’re a much better person than she’ll ever be.”

Louis gapes at her. “You know her?”

Shelby rolls her eyes. “It’s the cheer captain, Lou. Taylor? Does that ring a bell?”

Louis gulps. Of course he knows her. And he also knows from experience that Taylor is _not_ particularly fond of him.

He tells as much to Shelby, who isn’t having it. “It doesn’t even matter, Lou! You probably won’t even see her tonight.”

Louis breathes in. He looks at the house in front of him.

“C’mon,” Shelby tugs at his arm. “I don’t want to do this without you.”

“Why?” Louis asks, dumfounded. “You didn’t even know me before yesterday.”

“Shut up Louis,” Shelby says exasperatedly. “Everyone knows you. And I’ve gotten to know you personally. And I’ve concluded that I like you a whole lot more than I like any of my other friends. That’s why I want to help you get the boy you’re after. You deserve to get what you want.” Shelby pouts.

Louis looks around the scene. He contemplates his options: he can either, a) go inside and possibly talk to Harry Styles or b) he can run off in the other direction and forever think _what if_. Louis finds that he is fonder of the first option. He’s _tired_ of always holding back. “Okay, let’s go in before I change my mind.”

“You’re the best,” Shelby grins.

“I know,” Louis replies with a wink.

And the two of them walk in.

***

As soon as they step foot in the house, Louis pulls out his phone, simultaneously looking around.

“Who’re you looking for?” Shelby yells over the music.

“Harry!” Louis replies. “He wants to meet us!”

“Us?” Shelby asks, sounding shocked. “Why me?”

After reading Harry’s text (a concise, _meet us in the kitchen_ ), Louis grabs Shelby’s arm and tugs her over to where he assumes the kitchen is located. Pushing open the door, he notices that it, in fact, is the correct room. Harry is sitting on the counter looking down at his phone while Niall is eating chips from a bowl.

When the door clicks shut behind them, Harry and Niall’s heads both snap up to face Louis and Shelby.

Niall blushes profusely and Harry smirks. “Hello, you two. Been keeping us waiting, haven’t you?”

Louis clears his throat, feeling tense all of a sudden. “Yeah, erm, sorry about that?”

Harry grins, jumping off the counter. Or not quite jumping, more like stepping, Louis notices. The boy’s legs go on for _ages._

“So Louis,” Harry drawls, almost butting completely into Louis’ personal space. Louis would’ve minded except it was _Harry Styles._ “What do you say we give these two some privacy?”

Louis looks at Shelby, a bit unsure. But he sees the way she is eyeing Niall like she’s about to devour him, so he just answers with a “C’mon,” before leading Harry out of the kitchen and onto the back patio.

Stepping outside, Louis notices that the two were fairly alone. There’s a couple at the far end of the backyard snogging behind a bush. But as squirmy as it makes Louis, Harry is unfazed.

“They’re going to shag,” Harry chuckles. “I mean Shelby and Niall.”

Louis raises his eyebrows. “You seem quite sure of yourself.”

Harry motions for Louis to look through the window and into the kitchen. And sure enough, Niall and Shelby are frenching it in there.

“Ewww,” Louis gags. “I will never un-see that.”

Harry laughs. And it’s not one of those quiet chuckles he is known for. He full on _laughs_ and it is like music to Louis’ ears.

Louis smiles and sits down on the porch swing. He notices—quite happily—that Harry doesn’t hesitate before sitting down next to him.

“So are you looking for someone?” Harry asks, quietly. “Like a girl I mean? At least, I don’t think you have a girlfriend. Do you?”

Louis blushes and squirms in his seat. “Well actually…I don’t…I mean…it’s not that…well what I’m trying to say is…” Louis mumbles, wholly uncomfortable. He has never had to come out to anyone at school—Shelby had guessed about his crush. And now, all he can do is stare at his feet. “Erm, I kind of…I like boys.”

Louis sits motionless, taking in the quiet apart from the thump-thump coming from the music inside the house. He stands up to leave, thinking the quiet was Harry’s way of showing his disapproval. But, before he can walk off, he feels a hand wrap around his wrist, tugging him back down.

Louis looks up, trying his hardest to look into Harry eyes. When he finally makes himself do it, he notices that they are the most beautiful shade of green he has ever seen. And shockingly, the eyes don’t show any disgust. The eyes are, in fact, smiling.

“So are you crushing on anyone, then?” Harry asks. Louis has to do a double take.

“What?” he asks, bewildered.

“I said, are you crush—“

“No! I heard what you said but it’s just…what makes you think that I like someone?”

“Dunno,” Harry says, biting his bottom lip. “I’ve just got a feeling. And from the look on your face just now, I know that I’m right.”

Louis is suddenly self conscious. “What look on my face!?”

Harry laughs again, that beautiful laugh that left Louis enchanted. “It doesn’t even matter, Lou! What _does_ matter is that you need to tell me who it is so I can hook you two up!”

Louis laughs humorously, bringing his eyes down to his right hand, which he noticed, Harry was still holding tightly.

“What?” Harry asks softly.

“It doesn’t even matter that I like him because he’s straight.” Louis brings his left hand (the one free of Harry’s touch) to his mouth. He had _not_ meant to say that.

“Really,” Harry muses.

Louis sighs and leans back against the swing’s cushions. “Life sucks.”

“Pshh,” Harry says, leaning back like Louis and moving close enough to him that their sides are flush together. “It won’t anymore.”

Louis turns his head to meet Harry’s eyes, which are already focused on his. He tries his hardest to keep himself from blushing. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Harry says, beginning to trace circles on Louis’ wrist with his thumb. “I mean that I will _help_ you get this unattainable boy.”

Louis laughs. “You don’t even know who he is! And I’m _not_ going to tell you.”

Harry rolls his eyes. “I don’t need you to tell me. I’m just going to help you become attractive to the straight male. Not that you aren’t attractive already, because you are it’s just…” Harry trails off, his cheeks dusting with a faint blush.

Louis feels as though his own cheeks are on fire. “What’s the plan, boss man?”

“I’m going to help you get his attention.”

“And how’re you gonna do that?”

“You’ll see,” Harry says in a husky voice that sends shivers up Louis’ spine. “You can thank me after you fuck.”

Louis laughs and swats Harry’s arm, earning a giggle from the warm boy next to him.

But on the inside, he’s thinking, _shit. What have I gotten myself into?_


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the wait! This chapter is pretty short compared to the last one, but since I'll be on winter break next week, hopefully I can get more writing done. Thank you for your comments, it means so much to me that you're even reading this!!!! 
> 
> tumblr: burberrharry

It's been 10 whole minutes and Louis is still unsure as to how he is sitting—calmly--next to Harry Styles.  
  
It's literally all he's wanted for years. And now that he's gotten what he’s desired, he's quite surprised to realize that hanging around Harry is natural. It’s almost as if they're meant to be friends--or maybe, as craved by Louis, more than friends.  
  
"...and I'm not one to throw parties but my mum and step father let me ‘cos Taylor charmed them into it," Louis tunes back into the conversation, straying from his own train of thought to listen to Harry's incredibly sexy voice.  
  
"Oh this was Taylor's idea?" Louis questions. He stares at his legs and picks at a thread on his jeans.  
  
Harry sighs. "Yup. She said something about,” Harry air quotes, “'proving to the school that we’re the power couple.'" Harry rolls his eyes while Louis snorts and raises his eyebrows, alarmed.  
  
"Oh sorry about that," Louis mutters, surprised at his reaction. He didn't mean to make his annoyed feelings towards Taylor known, thinking it rude to interfere in someone else's relationship.  
  
Harry smiles sadly, looking down at Louis. "It's alright mate, no big deal." He sighs and drops his gaze. "I honestly would appreciate it if you were honest with me though." Louis swallows thickly and takes in a deep breath before Harry continues. "None of my friends tell me the truth. It's like people say things to get me to approve of them. But no one understands that I just want honesty." Harry brings his hands up to his face and rubs it vigorously. When his hands move back to his thighs, he blinks a couple of times, looking as though he's just woken up. "'M sorry I just kinda--threw all of that at you."  
  
Louis looks at him with a small smile. "Well it _is_ quite nice talking to you, so I don't mind."  
  
"Yeah," Harry smiles back, revealing his dimple. "Where have you been all my life?" He laughs unabashedly, throwing his head back.  
  
Louis feels his throat close up and suddenly he's hyper aware of everything going on around him; the heat rolling off of Harry's body, the thump thump of the music coming from inside. _What the fuck are you doing,_ he asks himself.  
  
"Anyway," Harry continues. "What are you doing tomorrow?"  
  
"Erm," Louis pretends to mull over his schedule like he's a busy person when, in all honesty, he never has any plans on the weekend (except doing the odd chore. But he knows his mum will forgive him if he blows his chores off in order to spend time with Harry). "Well usually I just spend Sundays sleeping in. But then I hang out with my mates Liam and Zayn. I don't know, it's nothing big or exciting."  
  
"Liam and Zayn? Do they go to our school?" Harry asks, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration like he’s trying to match names to faces.  
  
"Nah, they live across town. I wouldn't be a complete loner if they went to our school." Louis tugs on his shirt, feeling a slight blush creep up on his face.  
  
Harry rolls his eyes, poking Louis in the side. Louis squeaks in indignation but Harry ignores him. "You're not a loner; you just haven't found the--right _friend_ yet."  
  
"The _right_ friend!?" Louis laughs, bumping his shoulder into Harry's. (Once again, Louis is absolutely shocked at how _right_ it feels to be talking with Harry. His heart rate has calmed down and he can actually be himself without worrying what the other boy thinks of him.  
  
Unsurprisingly, Harry feels the same way. He looks at Louis with wonder. How has he survived all this time without Louis’ friendship? Harry gulps and thinks to himself, somewhere in the back of his head, that he's never letting Louis go. He's spent such little time with Louis but he feels like he's known him for ages. He's never had such a connection with anyone before. And as he stares into Louis' bright blue eyes, he thanks whatever god there is that he's gotten an opportunity to get to know someone so wonderful.)  
  
"Well yeah," Harry continues, trying to seem unfazed (as though his little epiphany hasn't completely muddled his thoughts). "Now that I've gotten to know you, I'm not letting you go." He winks, throwing a bit of cheek into his comment. Louis' cheeks glow with red and Harry smirks, figuring he's done something right.  
  
Louis' brows furrow. Two can play this flirtation game. "From the expression on your face you would think you're trying to seduce me, Styles."  
  
Harry's eyes widen. He hadn't realized Louis had a cheeky side. The boy was too quiet for his own good. "It's those eyes, Tomlinson. I can't resist the beauty." Harry clutches his heart wincing as though he's in pain.  
  
Louis gets up from the bench and winks at Harry who's visibly cataloguing his reaction. "Flattery will get you everywhere, babe."  
  
Harry beams and stands up with Louis. "I guess we should head back in now, shouldn't we? We've been antisocial enough for tonight."  
  
Louis follows Harry back into the house. His eyes scan the kitchen area for Shelby, and he raises his eyebrows at Harry when both boys can't seem to find their friends.  
  
"They better not be fucking in my room," Harry mutters. Louis suddenly feels out of place knowing that his one friend has left him alone. He wonders if Harry is his friend but he shakes his head at the idea. Why would a boy as gorgeous and popular as Harry want to be friends with someone as boring as Louis?  
  
"Umm, Harry?" Louis says unsurely. Harry looks down at him and Louis is shocked at the different shades of green in his eyes that can be see so clearly in the fluorescent lighting of the kitchen. "Maybe I should go home."  
  
Harry looks puzzled (and a bit sad and—what? Louis thinks his heart is palpitating). "Why?"  
  
"I dunno, I don't wanna keep you from anyone and um Shelby's probably busy for the rest of the night and…" Louis trials off, rubbing his hands together.  
  
"To be honest no one even noticed that I've been gone. Look," Harry nods in the direction of Taylor, who's standing in the middle of a circle of girls, modeling a tight black dress that shows off her nonexistent ass. Louis laughs and his hand shoots up to cover his mouth, once again surprised at how rude he's being. (But somewhere in the back of his mind, Louis realizes he doesn't really care, even though he's standing next to Taylor's boyfriend. She's rude to him and clearly hates him. A part of him says that he shouldn't have to be nice to her when she clearly isn't nice to him. All the while another part of him tells him to 'be the bigger person.' He’s quite conflicted to be honest.)  
  
Louis looks up at Harry hesitantly, almost sure that Harry will definitely kick him out of his house now and never talk to him again. But he's shocked when he sees Harry smiling down at him.  
  
"I wonder about you, Louis Tomlinson," Harry begins. "Making fun of my own girlfriend when I'm stood right next to you. How peculiar."  
  
Louis quirks an eyebrow. "But you don't care, do you Harry? It seems to me, based on our earlier conversation, that I'm not the only person at our school that’s been searching for the _right_ friend." He smirks at Harry and walks away (sashaying his hips) towards (what he hopes) the front door. (He also hopes that Harry's following him because if he's not then, well, that's an awkward way to leave a party).  
  
Louis breathes a sigh of relief when he feels a hand on his bicep.

He turns around and—oh. It’s Shelby?

“Ohmygod Louis.” Shelby gushes, face red.

“What’s the matter?” Louis asks, suddenly concerned.

“No ohmygod nothing’s _wrong_ it’s just—well—Niall’s gone to ask harry for some condoms and I’m kind of freaking out right now Christ wow is this happening I think it’s happening,”

“Shelby!” Louis exclaims. “Calm down babe! Wow Harry said that Niall likes you so go have fun with him and don’t freak out!”

“But Lou I don’t wanna leave you alone! We came here together anyway and it’s rude of me to just—“

“Shelby,” Louis chuckles. “I’ll be fine. I’m a big boy! I can walk home myself. It’s only like, five minutes from here. And as for being alone…”

“What,” Shelby says breathlessly. “Has Harry dumped Taylor for you yet?” she whispers the last part and Louis is grateful. He doesn’t want any of the pricks he goes to school with to know his secret.

“I wish,” Louis rolls his eyes. He looks the way he came from and sees Harry standing with his body facing him, looking back at Louis with a slight smile. Taylor’s got her hand on his arm but Harry’s not paying her any attention. Louis, shocked to the brim, flushes and averts his eyes from Harry’s piercing gaze, looking down at his feet.

Shelby, noticing Louis’ awkward change in stance, turns around and sees Harry looking. “Fuck!” she squeals, turning back to Louis. “Wow. He’s looking right at you.”

Louis’ heartbeat quickens. “Okay Shelly, go find Niall and call me tomorrow, yeah?”

“Ohmygod yes! I will! I love you so much Lou! And to think I wouldn’t have come here tonight if it wasn’t for you.” She gives him a bone crushing hug and pecks him on the cheek, turning to walk towards the stairs.

Louis sighs contently, happy for his friend, and walks out the front door. He’s on the stairs when-- “Lou!”

Louis’ breath hitches and he turns around, only to be met with a face-full of Harry. “Well hello there,” he says breathlessly.

Harry chuckles. “Can I at least walk you home if you’re so keen on leaving?” He looks at Louis with such a genuine concern in his eyes that Louis feels himself melt into a puddle, until Harry continues with, “Wouldn’t want any of the neighborhood bad boys to take advantage of you.”

Louis’ brows furrow, mouth opening and closing like a fish’s, unsure of how exactly he’s meant to respond. Harry’s laughing so hard and, by the looks of it, is having trouble breathing. Louis scoffs and begins walking away quickly.

“Lou,” Harry calls out between chuckles. “Wait up!”

Louis slows down, willing the flush to disappear from his face. “Are you really worried about me being raped, Harry?”

“Yes, of course. We don’t want anything happening to your virtue, now do we? You need to be in tip-top condition for that crush of yours.” Harry wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

Louis groans loudly while Harry snorts by his side. “I knew I shouldn’t have told you!” Louis cries.

Harry rolls his eyes and sighs. “No idiot boy. Now I can be your wingman! I’ll help you get the boy of your dreams!”

“Gosh what is with you people!?” Louis all but screams. “That’s literally exactly what Shelby said to me!”

“She did!?” Harry mulls it over. “Hmm maybe this can be a team effort then? I guess two is better than one, yeah? Oh no you know what’s even better? We can get Niall to help too! And your Liam and Zayn! And then you’ll get this boy for sure, yeah?” Harry’s eyes are sparkling with excitement and Louis feels sick to him stomach.

“Harry. What. The. _Fuck._ I don’t want _any_ of you to help me with this!”

“But why?” Harry asks, and, wow. There’s that whole genuineness again. Louis looks closely and Harry seems almost—hurt?

“Because.”

“Because why?” Harry’s eyebrows furrow.

Louis lets out an exasperated sigh. “Because I said so.”

“Oh c’mon, Lou, don’t be a child! I really do just wanna help you.”

“Fucks sake Harry. Look,” Louis stops walking and turns around to face Harry, blocking his path. Harry looks down at him. “This whole _thing_ that you’ve got planned in your head is never gonna work! Y’know why?” Louis doesn’t wait for harry to reply. “Because he doesn’t know I exist okay! I’m just the nerdy freak that no one ever notices. I have no friendsat school! How am I supposed to get the attention of my crush when half of the school _doesn’t even know who I am!?_ ” Louis stops suddenly, paralyzed. “Shit. Fuck. I shouldn’t have said any of that wow, I’m sorry I don’t know why. It just—wow. I’m a freak. Sorry.” He turns to walk away, tears prickling in the backs of his eyes.

But as he tries to turn, he feels a strong force knock into him and he’s left there, struggling to breathe. Arms tighten around him and his body goes slack in the heat of the other person’s body, pressed flush against him.

“Well,” Harry says from somewhere above him. “You’re a wonderful person and I don’t understand why you don’t realize that.” When lets go, Louis shyly looks up at him from under his fringe with pink cheeks, mortified at his extent meltdown.  

Harry continues, “I don’t understand how I haven’t realized it up until now. And I seriously _will_ do everything I can to make this bloke realize it too.”

Louis smiles and tugs on Harry’s arm, pulling the other boy with him along the sidewalk.

The two walk in silence until they reach Louis’ house. It’s not an awkward silence, definitely not a silence that Louis--or Harry--feels the urge to fill up. When they reach Louis’ front door, Louis gulps and tries to _breathe_ because damn it all, this feels like the end of some sort of date.

Harry clears his throat. Louis looks up at him and sees that he’s smiling with his dimples. He takes his two index fingers and pokes them into the dents on Harry’s face, laughing when Harry can’t contain his grin.

“Thanks for tonight, Harry,” Louis says after his laughter subsides.  “It was nice to get to talk to you.”

Harry gives Louis a quick hug and Louis pretends that he doesn’t treasure the moment at all. (He also pretends that he hasn’t memorized the smell of Harry’s cologne or the feel of Harry’s muscular torso on his because um that’s just creepy and Louis is _not_ a creep.)

After the boys part, Louis quickly turns around to hide his grin and reaches into his pocket, pulling out his house keys and shoving them into the lock. When the door opens, Louis is about to step inside when—

“Don’t forget to dream about your future boyfriend!” Harry yells while sprinting away.

Louis freezes, staring at the spot where Harry was just standing. His mouth hangs wide open and he stands there for a minute before realizing that he’s _still_ standing outside.

He closes the door behind him and leans against it in the dark. “Fuck,” he says sounding delirious to his own ears. “What have I done?”


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So on tumblr, I've proposed that if this chapter gets likes/reblogs, I'll update again tomorrow. I guess the same goes for here? Anyways, thank you all so much for your comments and kudos, it means so much to me, you don't even know!!
> 
> tumblr: burberrharry

“The truth is, Harry,” Louis sighs, running a hand through his hair. “I’m crazy about you. I think about you all the time. And I just. I want to be with you.” Louis looks up from where he was starring at his shoes.

Harry’s standing there, dumbfounded. He opens his mouth. “I,” he rasped. He blinks twice and clears his throat. He opens his mouth to speak again, but nothing comes out.

Louis can feel his throat tighten. He had just made a fool of himself in front of the one person who matters to him the most. He turns to walk away but then,

Then someone’s hand is on his shoulder and he’s being forced to turn around and when he does. When he does, Harry forehead is pressed against his and all he can see are Harry’s green, green eyes.

“Louis,” Harry whispers, and slams their lips together. Before Louis can comprehend what’s going on, his hands are in Harry’s hair and Harry’s tongue is in his mouth and he’s groaning.

And someone’s poking his sides?

Then that poking turns into tickling and Louis’ eyes open and all of a sudden, he’s in his room, lying in his bed.

And Harry is sitting beside him, giggling like a four year old girl.

Louis screams. It comes out as so shrill and girly that he wants to punch himself in the face.

At that, Harry’s giggles turn into loud bursts of laughter and Louis can feel the blush creep up on his face, on his neck.

And then he remembers that he’s shirtless.

That means Harry was touching his bare _stomach._

And that thought _does_ things to Louis’ lower region. “Fuck!” He yells, sitting up straight, alert. “What? How are you in my house? Why are you in my bed!?”

Harry takes a couple of deep breaths, attempting to calm himself down. “Your mum let me in,” he finally says. “But she told me if I wanted to see you I’d had to wake you up.”

“Fucking hell,” Louis mumbles, reaching for his glasses on his bed side table. After putting them on, his eyes wander to the clock that rests on his wall. “Why would you come to my house at _8:30 in the morning?”_

Harry grins. His eyes wander up and down Louis’ bare torso (and Louis inconspicuously tries to pull the blanket up so it covers more of his body). “Good thing I did. I’ve gotten to see you half naked. Do you work out?” Harry asks, genuinely.

Louis snorts. “No. I’m too lazy.”

Harry gapes at him. “Then how’ve you managed to get a body like that!?”

Louis blushes and uncomfortably shifts around in his bed. His dream managed to get him pretty aroused and now that Harry is ogling him like that, well. Let’s just say it isn’t difficult for Louis to picture what would’ve happened if the dream continued (sexy time). “Well,” Louis says finally. He scrunches up his nose and pretends to ponder Harry’s question. “Have I told you the gods have chiseled me to perfection, Harry? Because they have.”

Now it’s Harry’s turn to snort. “’Course they have, Lou. I mean, I’ve seen your arse. It’s quite the piece of art.”

Louis tries to control his blush, instead focusing on smirking at Harry. “Ohhh, so I see you’ve noticed my hot bod, Harold. Like what you see?”

Harry rolls his eyes. “Budge up.”

Louis almost chokes on his spit. “What?” he asks, spluttering.

“Y’know. Move over? Your bed is comfy.” Harry makes a show of bouncing a bit on Louis’ bed.

“I’ve only got pants on,” Louis wheezes.

“I don’t care, Louis. I’m not going to feel you up, I promise. Unless you want me to,” Harry winks.

 _Fuck,_ Louis thinks.

He moves over to the edge of the bed and Harry jumps under the covers, snuggling in and close to Louis. “Mmm,” he says contentedly, sighing. “I could get used to this.”

Louis awkwardly laughs, trying not to think of the copious amounts of time he has pictured Harry in his bed with him. “What brings you here, then?” Louis asks, quietly.

It’s raining outside and for a minute, all that both boys can hear is the way it pitter-patters as it hits the roof.

Harry shrugs and Louis can feel it, that’s how close they are. “I just,” Harry begins. He looks up at Louis, who’s  already looking at him with a small smile on his face. “I really like talking to you, I guess? I kind of want to spend time with someone who’s as interesting as you are?”

“I’m interesting, huh?” Louis says with a smirk. He turns his body over so he’s fully facing Harry.

“Yeah,” Harry breathes. Then, “Plus, I’m really eager to set you up with that boy who’s got you so smitten.”

“You don’t even know who the boy is!” Louis protests.

“Pshh, that doesn’t even matter,” Harry says confidently. “By the time I’m done with you, the whole school will be drooling all over you.”

Louis quirks an eyebrow. “A man who likes to feat at the impossible,” Louis considers aloud. “Me likey.” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

Harry laughs and nudges his head into Louis’ shoulder. His arm makes its way over Louis’ torso and Louis’ breath catches in his throat.

“Is this weird?” Harry eventually asks.

“Nope,” Louis says, trying to calm himself down. He’s trying to act like it’s no big deal--when really, it is.

"Good," Harry hums, nuzzling his head into Louis' side.  
  
After a couple of minutes in silence, Harry looks up at Louis through his eyelashes. He looks sleepy and Louis smiles at him, absentmindedly running his hands through Harry's curls. The action seems oddly natural considering the fact that the two have never been this physically close before.  
  
"I like cuddling," Harry whispers.  
  
"Me too," Louis agrees quietly.  
  
"Taylor doesn't though," Harry says, furrowing his eyebrows. He looks thoughtful before he speaks again. "Even after we like, have sex. She's just. Kinda distant. I dunno. 'S weird." He mumbles.  
  
Louis' suddenly hit with a pang of sympathy. From what he's heard (from Harry’s own mouth), Harry doesn't enjoy his relationship with Taylor as much as everyone thinks he does. He hesitates. "Hey, Haz?"

"Hmm?"

  
"Y'know how you said you want me to be honest with you?" Louis begins, rubbing circles on Harry's scalp.  
  
Harry purrs. Louis laughs, taking it as encouragement to continue both the rubbing and the talking. "I want you to be honest too then. Are you happy? With Taylor I mean?"  
  
Harry freezes. He clears his throat and begins. "I--"  
  
Louis panics. "Ugh sorry I shouldn't have asked you that. It's not my place wow, I dunno why I said that I'm sorry I just--"  
  
"Louis," Harry says firmly. "It's fine."  
  
Louis lets out a breath that he didn't know he was holding.  
  
"I think she's an amazing girl, I really do. But I just--" Harry sighs, finally letting his eyes meet Louis'. "We don't have the same connection we did when we first started dating."  
  
Louis laughs. "Wow, Harry. I just realized that I don't even remember a time when you were single."  
  
Harry smiles. "I guess I'm the kind of guy who’d much rather be in relationships than not. Y’know, on the lookout for true love and all.” Harry chuckles, but then his smile turns into a frown and his eyes turn murky.  “But now, with school coming to a close, I think Taylor would kill me if I broke up with her. Especially because Prom’s so close."  
  
Louis frowns. "I don't think it's fair for her to drag you around in the relationship."  
  
"But you don't know Taylor," Harry says, exasperated. "She wants the perfect life and the perfect high school experience and the perfect boyfriend--who I'm not, by the way. And she would _ruin_ the next person I started dating cos she'd think they were the one who made me break up with her! Plus, no one would want to date me anyways. I'd be dateless to prom! And since I’m the captain of the football team, that isn't exactly 'acceptable' or whatever." Harry groans. "It's difficult to explain," he says a minute later.  
  
Louis can't believe what he’s hearing. He pulls his hand out from under Harry’s hair and smacks him, hard. "Don't be a dumbarse," he says, riled up. "How can you think nobody would wanna date you? You have every girl falling at your feet!"  
  
Harry cackles. "Taylor would just end up scaring them all off,” he concludes bitterly.  
  
Louis rolls his eyes. "Well then. We'd have to find you someone who she _doesn't_ scare off."  
  
"That's not likely to happen," Harry smiles.  
  
Before Louis can reply, his phone starts vibrating incessantly. "Oh. Could you get that?"  
  
Harry blindly reaches behind himself to pick off Louis' phone from the bedside table. His eyes are still trained on Louis' face and Louis feels self conscious.  
  
"What? Is there something on my face," Louis says so quietly that Harry realizes that he would've missed it if his eyes weren't tracing Louis’ facial features. He grins and hands Louis his phone.  
  
Louis' heart is beating quite fast (because why was Harry _looking_ at him like that?) and he concentrates on putting his passcode in correctly.  
  
"Oh," he says, seeing the text from Zayn.  
  
"What's wrong?" Harry asks, concerned.  
  
"Oh. Nothing. Just.” Louis scratches the back of his neck. “I usually spend Sunday mornings at my friend Liam's dad's car shop." Louis scratches his head. "I can cancel with them today? No biggie."  
  
"No no!” Harry says quickly. “I don't wanna get in your way or anything. I could go home."  
  
Louis sighs and thinks for a minute, torn between spending time with his crush (he's wanted to do it for ages and now that he can, shouldn't he?) and spending time with his mates who he barely sees, save for Sundays. "Maybe," he starts. "Maybe you can hang out with us? I mean, we're pretty boring, we just talk, but--"  
  
"Are you sure your friends won't mind?" Harry asks, worrying his lip.  
  
Louis grins back at Harry. "Nope. We're gonna surprise them, actually."  
  
"Wey hey!" Harry screams, rolling out of Louis' bed.  
  
Louis laughs but is suddenly hit with realization that he slept in only his pants the night before. "Um," he says awkwardly. "I'm kind of in my pants?"  
  
Harry laughs. "So you said before. I'll try not to undress you with my eyes," he winks.  
  
 _Well it's now or never_ , Louis thinks. He then takes time stepping out of bed carefully. When his feet touch the floor, his cheeks (the ones on his _face_ not his bum) are burning. He puts his phone down on the night table and looks up at Harry, who's looking at him with an unreadable expression. "I'll just. Yeah." Louis rubs the back of his neck and begins his way to the bathroom.  
  
If he had turned around, he would've seen the flush on Harry's face as his eyes followed the swell of Louis' arse.

***

  
In the toilet, Louis grips the edge of the sink and takes in deep breaths. _We're only going to hang out with Liam and Zayn. Everything will be fine._

It’s like he is begging himself not to fuck up whatever relationship he has with Harry. All he’s wanted is to get the curly haired boy to notice him. But Louis is scared that now that Harry _has_ noticed him, he’ll fuck it up, either by opening his mouth without thinking about what he’s going to say first, _or_ by not being able to control the emotions on his face.

As he looks in the mirror he scoffs at the boy who he sees looking back at him.

A part of Louis can’t help but feel _pathetic_ for wanting Harry, even after all of these years. If he’s learned anything, it’s that Harry is completely uninterested in him. Yet Louis keeps pining after him.

Another part of Louis argues that maybe now that he’s actually _getting to know_ Harry, things can possibly change. Maybe Harry will realize that it doesn’t matter that Louis is a boy. Maybe Harry will realize that he and Louis are compatible.

But then, there’s a third part. A third part of Louis that sits back and laughs because, _Louis you fucking idiot. You’ve got no chance with Harry. He thinks you’re crushing on someone else! And he’s helping you get the attention of that someone!_

And wow. Louis is tired of playing tug of war with his mind, even if it has only been more or less a day since he’s started talking to Harry and since he let out his ‘big secret.’

But as Louis changes into the jeans and t-shirt (that smell clean enough) hanging on the back of his bathroom door, he realizes that he’s been put into this terrifying situation because he’s meant to catch the attention of Harry Styles. He’s meant to get Harry to _like him_ like him.  

So as he walks out of the bathroom, Louis is no longer simply going with the flow. No. Louis now has a plan.

And that plan is to make Harry Styles fall in love with him.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm seriously questioning my mental stability at this point. I really do love writing this fic more than anything, apparently even if I have to give up sleep to do so. Thanks so much for your kind words! Express your desire for a quick update and it may just happen again tomorrow! :DD
> 
> tumblr: burberrharry

The walk to the car shop takes a total of ten minutes. And not one of those minutes passes in silence.  
  
Harry realizes that talking to Louis is just easy; it's the most natural thing. He's never had a friend that lets him blabber on about the randomest of things without judging him. But now he has Louis and, well. Harry looks forward to having more of these conversations.  
  
"Okay." Louis abruptly stops laughing at the story Harry just finished recalling. "The shop's just around the corner but I've got to warn you." Louis stops walking and looks at Harry square in the eye. "You're basically walking into a danger zone."  
  
"In a good way, I hope?" Harry laughs.  
  
"Mmm, well. You'll be the judge of that." Louis motions for Harry to continue walking with him, and soon, they've made it to the garage door.  
  
"In we go," Louis mumbles, crossing his fingers behind his back. "Lads!" He exclaims in an exaggerated Yorkshire accent.  
  
"Lewis! Lewis is that really you," a boy lilts in a fake Pakistani accent. He’s got dark hair and light brown skin, and he looks—even in his work clothes—like he’s just stepped off of a runway.  
  
"Zaynie!" Louis says, hugging his friend. "Where's yer boyfriend?"  
  
Zayn shakes off the hug. "Liam! We've got company!"  
  
"Aw is that Prince Louis!?" A boy (whom Harry and Louis cannot see) says, faking enthusiasm.  
  
Louis looks around the garage, puzzled. "Er. Li?"  
  
A second later, Liam rolls out from under a car, shirtless. He’s tall and muscular with light brown hair and brown eyes that are filled with excitement. Harry raises his eyebrows but neither Liam nor Zayn have acknowledged his presence yet. And Louis seems to have forgotten that Harry had even come with him. Harry looks on, amused at the banter going on before his eyes.  
  
"A'ri, mate?" Louis asks, clapping Liam's naked torso.  
  
"Yeah, yeah Louis," Liam says, eyes glistening with excitement. "Cut the crap. How was that party last night? Did you chill with you-know-who?" He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.  
  
At that moment, two things happen at once. Zayn turns his head and finally notices Harry standing off to the side. He raises his eyebrows and then furrows them.

Harry starts to lift his hand to wave at Zayn but at the same time, Louis pounces on Liam--who yelps in distress—and begins yelling profanities at him.  
  
"Who's your friend, Louis?" Zayn asks, clearly still confused.  
  
Liam looks up from where Louis is harassing him. "Oh. Hello. Is this your boyfriend, Louis?" Liam asks casually ,smirking.  
  
Zayn laughs loudly and Harry feels the blush creeping up on his cheeks.  
  
"Fucking hell, Liam!" Louis yells, shoving him backwards. He turns to face Harry and Harry notices the blush on his face too. Louis motions for Harry to move closer to them, and Harry does as he's told.  
  
"Hi. I'm Harry," he says finally.  
  
The room goes completely silent.

Liam and Zayn look at Harry, mouths open. Then, they both burst into laughter.  
  
"Nice one mate," Liam sputters between laughs. "Harry," he says like it’s ridiculous, and continues laughing.  
  
Harry looks at them, confused. Then he looks at Louis, who's staring at the wall like a deer caught in the headlights.  
  
 _I'm completely and utterly fucked,_ Louis thinks to himself. _My friends are stupid shitheads._  
  
Harry looks back at Liam and Zayn who've calmed themselves down a bit. "Why's that so funny," he wonders aloud, confused.  
  
"Because it's so bloody _obvious_ you're joking, mate," Zayn laughs. "Harry Styles in our garage. Nice one," he chuckles once.  
  
Liam snorts. "So who're you then? Like properly."  
  
Then Louis speaks through clenched teeth. "This is _actually_ Harry, boys."  
  
Liam and Zayn look at each other (again). Then they look at Louis and noticing that he's serious, they both look at Harry. Taking in his appearance (that fits the description Louis has given them a billion times), both of their eyebrows rise at once. Harry isn't sure whether to laugh because of their synchronization or to cry because there is _obviously_ something he's missing here.  
  
"Fucking. What."  Zayn breathes, blinking. "Shit, so sorry mate. Hi. Um, I'm Zayn."  
  
"Liam," the brown-eyed boy breathes, sticking out a hand. "Sorry about that, we just. Weren't expecting you?"  
  
Harry shakes Liam's hand and when it drops he laughs uncomfortably. "Erm, yeah. That's fine."  
  
"Just didn’t expect Louis to eventually tell you that--"  
  
"ZAYN!" Louis screams, interrupting Zayn mid sentence. "I haven't--y'know."  
  
"Oh," Zayn says, paling considerably.  
  
"Tell me what?" Harry asks, a bit annoyed.  
  
"Oh, erm. Just that the three of us are really big fans of your footballing, mate!" Liam says, gulping. "Never thought he'd get around to telling you." He chuckles, scratching the back of his neck. “Since he’s—shy and all.”  
  
Zayn laughs too. “Yeah, you know Louis. Admires from afar and all.”

Harry looks at Louis and then at Liam. “Wait. Before,” he gestures vaguely with his hand. “You asked Louis if he got to chill with ‘you-know-who.’” Harry looks back at Louis. “Did he mean the boy you like!?” He cries, sounding excited. “He was at my party!? That means I know him!” Harry’s grin is so big and he’s practically jumping up and down.

Louis coughs awkwardly, seeing Zayn and Liam ogling at him in his peripheral vision. “Well,” he begins, unsure of how he can fib his way out of this situation. “I wouldn’t say he was _at_ the party, just—“Louis grimaces, having no idea where this is going. But before he can finish, Harry laughs and claps his hands in delight.

“Oh my god,” he squeals. “I know him!”

Louis groans.

And then, Zayn and Liam begin laughing like hyenas again.

“Wait,” Zayn finally says, ceasing his laughter to speak. “You told _Harry_ about your crush—“

“But you didn’t tell him _who you’re crushing on!?”_ Liam finishes.

“You didn’t think the identity of the person would affect the outcome of your,” Zayn pauses to fin the right word. “Situation?”

“Will you guys tell me who it is, then?” Harry asks, eyes open wide and innocent.

Louis pointedly glares at Liam and Zayn.

“No can do,” Liam declares. “It’s up to you to figure this out.”

“It can be like a mission or something,” Zayn adds, hopeful but unhelpful.

“But you see,” Harry begins. “It’s not about finding out who Lou’s crushing on. It’s about _setting him up_ with the boy.”

Liam squints at Louis and then sighs exasperatedly. Looking at Harry once again, he says a quick “Well good luck with that, mate,” before patting Harry on the back and walking back to the car, lying in his previous position underneath.

 “The three of you are really weird,” Harry mumbles.

“You’ve no idea, mate,” Zayn replies, smiling. He then proceeds to salute both boys--like a soldier would his captain—before turning on his heel and walking into a room with a desk.

Seeing that Harry is looking after Zayn, Louis tells him, “Zayn’s in charge of the paper work. He doesn’t wanna mess up his quiff by actually _working.”_

“They’re funny guys,” Harry concludes, straying from Louis’ choice of topic.

Louis rubs at his face. “Sorry about that,” he says after a while.

“It’s okay. It’s quite nice to see such a natural friendship, actually,” Harry comments thoughtfully.

“Leave it to you, Styles, to look at the extremely miniscule bright side of this whole situation,” Louis smiles. He then walks over to a chair in the back of the room and takes a seat, patting the one next to him.

Harry grins and walks over to the chair, which looks worn and terribly dirty but, after taking a seat, Harry realizes that it’s surprisingly quite comfortable. The two sit in companionable silence for a minute, save for the music that Zayn’s basting.

“Liam’s dad actually never shows up to work on Sundays anymore,” Louis says randomly. “It’s just been the three of us here, every Sunday, for the past three years. It’s quite fun cos the shop’s not open to the public today.”

Harry hums. “Seems like a nice place to hang out,” he says, unsure of what else he can say about Louis’ choice of topic. There’s actually something on his mind but he’s unsure of how to bring up it up.

A minute later, Louis gets up from his seat and walks over to a water cooler that’s sitting on a table with a bunch of tools. Harry checks his phone because he doesn’t know what else to do while he waits for Louis. He also _really_ doesn’t want to seem like a creep who keeps looking at Louis. (So what, he’s awkward, sue him.)

“A Coke for your thoughts?” Louis asks, sitting down once again. He holds out a glass bottle of Coke for Harry to take.

Mumbling a short, “Thank you,” Harry opens the bottle and takes a sip, loving the feeling of the cool, fizzy bubbles hitting the back of his throat. “So what do you like so much about your crush?” He asks without thinking. He’s actually quite shocked that he’s even opened his mouth. With his friends, he always has to think twice about any single word that he utters. But he knows now that conversing with Louis is _different._ He knows that he won’t be judged for what he says, and he figures that it’s a good thing that he gets to be open and honest once in a while.

Louis’ fingers trace the side of the bottle, and Harry notices, for the first time, how much _smaller_ Louis is. He suddenly clears his throat, unsure of where his thoughts are headed.

“I guess he seems interesting,” Louis finally says. He’s looking down at the floor like it’s the most fascinating thing he’s ever laid eyes upon. “Everyone adores him, so I guess that proves that he’s a good person. And he’s so _confident_ and _bold.”_ He hesitates.“Those are two things that I’m not and I guess I find them especially attractive in someone else.” He smirks. “Plus, it helps that he’s quite fit.”

Harry grins. “Sounds like a decent guy,” is what he finally settles on replying. “But a big fuck you for not saying anything specific. From what I’ve heard, those characteristics could fit 75 percent of the male population at our school.” He tsks, shaking his head. “So unhelpful, Louis.”

“That’s the goal,” Louis retorts easily.

“I like people that are kindhearted,” Harry says, out of the blue. “People that are genuinely nice, who care about others around them.”

“Yeah,” Louis nods in agreement. “But I also like people that are funny. Not with a humor that hurts other peoples’ feelings, but y’know. People that you can never have a dull moment with.”

“Exactly!” Harry exclaims. “But I also love people that are honest. Not like, obnoxiously blunt honest, but like, I’ll-tell-you-if-you-look-ugly-in-that, honest.” Harry looks at Louis, who’s smiling back at him. “I’ve missed honesty,” he sighs.

“Lucky you have me then,” Louis grins, punching Harry’s arm. His eyes are shining and Harry wonders how someone’s managed to capture every hue of blue in them.

“Seems like we’re looking for the same person,” Harry chuckles, returning the arm-punch.

Louis looks thoughtful for a moment. “Correct me if I’m wrong,” he muses. “But you’ve kept saying ‘person’ and I don’t know whether or not I should take that as a hint?” Louis prays to a higher power that he doesn’t look _too_ hopeful.

“Oh. I mean, I don’t mind gender at all,” Harry says quietly. He looks around. “Sorry, I’ve never said this out loud.”

Louis raises his eyebrows and his heartbeat increases a tenfold. _Harry Styles_ is interested in boys and _Louis_ is the first person to know. Forgive him for freaking out a bit.

“But yeah, I do think boys are fit,” Harry continues, biting his lip to keep his grin from spreading.

“Oh really,” Louis eggs him on, completely ignoring his own chest (which feels like it’s going to burst with giddiness and excitement any moment now). “Like who?”

“Hmm, you mean someone we know or, like, an actor?”

“Someone we know,” Louis says (almost growls, actually).

Harry rolls his eyes. “Well _you’re_ fit,” he says casually.

Louis’ mouth goes dry and he feels like he’s in a comma. Everything looks hazy all of a sudden…

“Don’t play games with me, Styles,” Louis asserts—or at least tries to; his voice is wobbly. (He hopes to God that Harry doesn’t notice it.)

“I’m not!” Harry laughs. “I’ve already told you that you’ve got a nice body! Why’d’ya seem so shocked?”

And Harry is so _oblivious_ to how he makes Louis feel, and Louis kind of wants to get up and throw a chair across the room (but he can’t because Liam’s dad would kill him). He’s almost 90 percent sure that he _drools_ when Harry looks his way, so to him it’s so _odd_ that Harry hasn’t realized it--yet. Because sooner or later, Louis’ going to go stir crazy and he will end up kissing Harry or making sex eyes at him or even worse—telling him how he feels (gasp!).

“Well then. You’re fit too. Thought I should probably say that since we’re playing the ‘boost-your-mate’ game,” Louis rolls his eyes.  

Harry scoffs. “Whatever, Tomlinson.” He looks at the clock, suddenly distracted. “Right, well. I should head home. I’ve got to go to my dad’s house for dinner.”

“Wait--your parents are divorced?”

“Mhm,” Harry hums. Then, he doesn’t know why he says it but, “My dad left my mum when I was five.”

Louis’ mouth drops open and he gapes at Harry. “No fucking way,” he breathes.

“What?” Harry questions, confused.

“My dad left my mum when I was five too.”

“No fucking way,” Harry repeats with his eyes wide. Louis would laugh but he doesn’t think it’s the right thing to do, considering what they’re talking about.

They just stare at each other for a minute. Then, Harry shakes his head, coming out of a trance. “I should really go,” he rushes, standing up. “Thanks for hanging out with me today.” He smiles and his cheeks dimple. Louis wants to scream.

Instead, he stands up too. “Any time,” he replies, hoping he doesn’t sound too desperate.

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” Harry tells Louis, and it sounds like a promise of some sort.

“Yeah,” Louis affirms. In all honesty, his head’s swimming too much for him to think of a better response.

With one last toothy grin, Harry is off. Louis looks at his retreating back, reminding himself to breathe as he notices Harry’s back muscles flexing.

When he can no longer see Harry’s retreating figure, Louis exhales heavily and falls into his chair.

He realizes that his heart is still beating quite rapidly. 


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. Updates three nights in a row. I'm on a roll haha. But honestly, it's all thanks to your comments and kind words. You guys motivate me!! :DD
> 
> tumblr: burberrharry

Ever since the beginning of high school, Louis has made it a habit to get up an hour before school so he can have breakfast with his mum. He understands that she’s busy in the afternoon and since he’s potentially the biggest momma’s boy out there, he cherishes every moment that he does get to spend with her.  
  
Today, the mother and son are chatting over toast and tea. Louis' in the middle of suffering from utter embarrassment as his mother takes the mickey out of him for his _ginormous_ crush on Harry, when the doorbell rings. Jay pauses her taunting to usher Louis towards the door.  
  
Louis squints at his mother. "I see the game that you're playing with me," he whispers, doing the classic _I've got my eyes on you_ gesture on his way to the door.  
  
He smiles to himself and pulls the door open, not looking through the peephole beforehand.  
  
His smile slips off of his face and his eyebrows rise to his hairline.  
  
It's the one and only Harry Styles.  
  
"Hi," Harry says.  
  
Louis stares at him blankly, blinking.  
  
"Aren't you gonna let me in?" Harry asks with his hands in his pocket, swaying from side to side.  
  
"Oh," Louis says. He clears his throat. "Er." He moves over and holds the door open.  
  
Harry kicks off his shoes and makes sure they're neatly pushed over to the side. "Your mum up?" he asks, acting like showing up at Louis' doorstep at half six in the morning is routine for him.  
  
"Why're you here?" Louis questions bluntly.  
  
"To help you pick a killer outfit."  
  
Louis blinks.  
  
"Y'know. To help you seduce you're crush," Harry says to Louis like he's speaking to a toddler.  
  
"You're joking," Louis mutters in disbelief.  
  
"Fortunately for you, Louis, I'm not. Now where's your mum?"  
  
Louis groans. "Kitchen."

"Lead the way." Harry motions for Louis walk in front of him.  
  
Sighing, Louis treads over to the kitchen. "We've got a visitor mummy," he huffs.  
  
Jay's cup of tea is currently in the process of traveling to her mouth. But seeing Harry, she pauses mid-way and stares. "Oh," she says, confused.  
  
"'Morning Mrs. Tomlinson," Harry smiles.  
  
"Hello darling," Jay says while she looks at Louis. "Call me _Jay_. We've been over this before."  
  
Harry chuckles.  
  
"You didn't tell me we'd be having company, Louis," Jay smirks.  
  
"I didn't know myself," Louis mumbles under his breath, picking up his dishes and putting them in the sink. "Let’s go," he nods in the direction of the stairs.  
  
Harry smiles at Jay and follows Louis up to his room.  
  
As soon as Jay hears her son’s door close, she snorts before going back to her tea.  
  
***  
  
Louis is, once again, standing in his bathroom.  
  
He's dressing himself in the clothes that Harry has picked out for him to wear.  
  
The outfit consists of a dark blue flannel that's half sleeved. Louis does up the all of the buttons, including the top one. After putting the shirt on, Louis realizes that it's quite tight--no wonder he's not ever thought to wear it on his own.  
  
Harry's also chosen a pair of chinos that are cuffed at the bottom of the leg and stop at Louis' ankles, which haven't felt a breeze in ages.  
  
Before he let Louis go into the bathroom to change, Harry had told him, "Lou. As much as I love your fringe, you've gotta change up your hair today."  
  
Harry had looked so concerned and earnest that Louis simply _cannot_ stop himself from obeying his wishes. Louis remembers the last time he'd gone with Zayn to get his hair cut, and how the hairdresser told him that he'd look "sexier" if he "quiffed up his hair" like the other boy did.  
  
 _Let’s see how idiotic I'll look,_ Louis thinks to himself. He turns on his mum’s hair dryer and proceeds in building up his hair in the way he's seen Zayn do his own.  
  
After he's done, he takes a step back and looks at the "new Louis." After criticizing his own appearance, Louis thinks that he may look better without his glasses. So he takes out his barely used contacts and puts them in, one by one.  
  
Louis breathes deeply after he’s done getting ready. Finally, he puts his hand on the doorknob and after reassuring himself that he doesn't look _that_ stupid, he opens the door and steps out of the bathroom.  
  
Harry's sprawled across Louis' bed humming the lyrics to a song Louis doesn't recognize. He's in his own world and Louis has to clear his throat to get his attention.  
  
But when Harry does notice him, he shoots up from his position so quickly that Louis' afraid he’s pulled a muscle in the process.  
  
Harry's looking at Louis with an expression that can only be described as disbelief and awe.  
  
"Ahem," Louis says shyly, looking at the floor.  
  
And the Harry starts applauding. "Yes! Yes, Louis, this is! This is amazing!" Harry whistles.  
  
Louis bursts into laughter, unable to contain himself. Noticing that it only eggs Harry on, Louis begins catwalking to where Harry's sitting on his bed. Then he puts his hand on his hip and twirls around.  
  
Harry's giggling like a mad man and Louis can't suppress his own unmanly squeaks.  
  
When they've both caught their breaths, Harry gets up from Louis' bead and saunters over to him, placing both his hands on Louis' shoulders. "You've done well, m'boy."  
  
"How does my bum look?" Louis asks, turning around and sticking it out a bit.  
  
Harry answers by slapping it. "Delectable," he growls.  
  
Louis, whose face turns as bright red as a tomato, laughs awkwardly and thinks about old ladies because he does _not_ need a boner now. But it's quite difficult for him to minimize his "excitement" because Harry slapping his bum is literally a fantasy of his. One that he does not let himself think about unless he's at the mercy of his right hand.  
  
Louis gulps turns around to see that Harry's biting his lip, and for a split second Louis thinks that Harry's eyes shine with lust.  
  
But then Harry's laughing again and Louis pretends not to notice the flush on his cheeks. "That boy won't know what hit ‘im," Harry finally says, grinning.  
  
Louis shrugs and smiles back. "Shall we go, then?"  
  
"We shall," Harry replies in a posh accent.  
  
Downstairs, Harry all but forces Louis to put on white tennis shoes. They're different from his usual TOMS and Louis doesn't like the idea that they're VANS knock offs. But when Harry pouts and pleads with him, Louis finally gives in.  
  
"What's with all the commotion?" Jay asks, walking into the foyer. She stops dead in her tracks when she spots Louis, and her eyes open to a size that is comically big. “What in god’s name—“

“Ta-da!” Louis exclaims, topping it off with jazz hands.

“Louis’ got some impressin’ to do,” Harry smiles.

“Oh does he now?” Jay asks, eyebrows raised because she knows _exactly_ what Harry means after Louis explained his “situation” to her.

Louis heaves a sigh. “Mum, we’re going now,” he says, tugging on Harry’s arm.

“Have a good day, Jay!” Harry beams.

Jay smiles at him, clearly fond already. “You too, Harry.”

“I love you mum,” Louis says, smiling. He walks over to her and gives her a hug and a kiss.

“Love you too, boobear.” Jay winks at Louis when she notices the blush on his cheek.

At this point, Harry has opened the front door and is waiting for Louis on the porch outside, shit-eating grin in full effect. “Let’s go, boobear.”

“Ugh! Mum! See what you’ve done!” Louis cries, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

Harry giggles and runs onto the sidewalk. Louis groans and trails after him.

“Don’t get distracted on the way, boys! Be on time for school!” Jay yells

And if each boy blushes, the other pretends not to notice.

***

They’re standing in front of the door to their first period classroom. Louis’ heart is beating even more erratically than usual.

“Okay,” Harry says, beginning his pep talk. “Louis, you’re brilliant, and it’s time to show the world what a sexy beast you are.”

Louis tries to calm down the butterflies in his stomach. “Let’s just go in, Harry.”

Harry shrugs and pulls the door open. Both boys walk in together, and it’s impossible for Louis not to notice the dozens of pairs of eyes that follow them both to their seat. He thinks he hears some whispers, of _, Is that Louis Tomlinson?_ and _Why the fuck are Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson walking that close to each other?,_ but. It could simply be his mind fucking with him because in all honesty, when does his mind _not_ fuck with him?

When they’re both seated and Louis’ blush is slowly disappearing as he pulls out his notebook from his book bag, Harry turns around in his seat to look at Louis with his infamously large green eyes.

“Is he in this class?” he whispers. And he’s so _close_ to Louis that Louis can feel his voice in his bones.

Louis’ blush returns and he groans internally. “Erm—I wouldn’t say that he’s—“

“Yes! I knew it!” Harry squeals, excited. That prompts all of the eyes in the room to stare at them once more. Louis wants to disappear.

“I didn’t say--“ Louis begins. But before he has the chance to protest Harry’s assumption the bell rings.

Harry looks smug as he turns around once more, and Louis puts his head in his hands, careful not to mess up his quiff.

Class goes by uneventfully, and Louis is glad he’s not put on the spot because he definitely did _not_ pay attention to a single word that came out of the teacher’s mouth.

When the bell rings, Harry hops out of his seat and waits for Louis to gather his things. “When do you have lunch?”

“Fourth,” Louis replies. “What about you?” He asks like he doesn’t already know the answer.

Harry groans. “Fifth,” he says, sighing. He looks like he’s considering something for a minute. “Hey Louis?” he asks with uncertainty evident in his voice.

“Mhmm?”

“What are you doing after school?”

“I’ve got nothing important planned. Why?” Louis questions, baffled.

“Oh it’s just—do you wanna hang out?” And Harry’s kicking the ground whilst he speaks and Louis just finds his whole _person_ so _endearing,_ so naturally, he replies,

“Sure!”

Harry smiles, still looking down at the ground. “Good. Was afraid you were getting sick of me and you’d say no.”

“I would never get sick of you, Hazza,” Louis says quietly. He cringes at the sincerity in his own voice, but Harry seems quite taken.

“Good,” he breathes. “Meet me outside by the football field after the last bell.”

“Will do,” Louis salutes.

Harry snorts and motions for Louis to follow him. Of course, Louis does so without a second thought.

“What do you have next?” Harry asks once they’re in the hallway.

“Economics,” Louis shivers. “Hate it.”

“Oh. I’ll walk you!” Harry chirps.

“What do you have?” Louis wonders, shocked that he doesn’t know.

“Art,” Harry nods.

“But that’s on the other side of the school!”

“So?” Harry sticks his tongue out. Then, he changes the subject before Louis can retort. “What do you wanna do today after school?”

“I dunno, what do _you_ wanna do?” Louis replies cheekily.

Harry’s brow furrows in concentration. “I guess I wanna get to know you better. So we can be proper best mates,” he finishes.

Louis tries to hide the fact that Harry’s label makes his heart sink. _You’ll always be his friend,_ he thinks bitterly to himself. _Never anything more. How could you be?_ “Y’know what,” Louis says suddenly. “I want to know more about _you._ Everything’s been about me the past couple of days.”

Harry quirks an eyebrow. “Erm, okay.” He thinks. “I think the best way to get to know someone is by hanging out around the people they associate them self with.”

Louis nods. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Great,” Harry beams. They’ve reached Louis’ classroom and Harry stands there, beaming at Louis.

Louis beams back.

The two stand there, looking at each other for a minute longer before bursting into giggles, and Louis thinks, _I love that this is so easy._

But soon, Harry realizes that he should go to his own class before the bell rings. So he waves at Louis and walks off.

Sighing, Louis opens the door to his classroom and trudges to his seat.

Needless to say, he thinks about Harry all day.

***

The day feels like it drags on and on, but Louis knows it’s because he’s anticipating the final bell.

He’s excited to venture into Harry’s life. All jokes aside, he really _is_ curious to know Harry better. He wants to know where the other boy is coming from, what he does in his spare time, what kind of music he listens to, whether or not he enjoys breakfast for dinner as much as he does…

Plus, he wants to uncover every nook and cranny in Harry’s life so he can somehow crawl into it and superglue himself there.

So when the final bell rings, Louis has to physically slow himself down for fear of coming across as too eager. He slowly walks in the hallway and even waits in the line for the water fountain, even though he’s not particularly thirsty (for water—for sex, well).

It’s a whole five minutes later that Louis arrives at the empty football field where Harry asked to meet up. He notices that the other boy is sitting up in the bleachers, tapping away at his phone. Harry’s sitting in the top row and Louis has to brace himself whilst walking up because he is out of shape and does _not_ want to seem out of breath because ew.

“Hiya,” he eventually says when he reaches the top.

“Lou!” Harry grins. “Missed you today.”

Louis’ stomach churns. “Can’t even go a couple of hours without me, Harry?” He pouts. “Aww, how cute.”

Harry pats the space on the bench next to him and Louis sits down. “Your beautiful face is impossible not to miss,” he sighs, clutching his heart.

“I’m actually kind of shocked that you’re spending time with me,” Louis reveals, smacking Harry. “I thought you’d be off with your girlfriend.”

Harry flicks Louis’ ear. “She has some cheer camp thing every day after school. I only really get to see her when she err—needs a shag.”

Louis blinks, surprised by Harry’s honesty, and pushes down the bile that’s rising in his throat. He looks back up at Harry when he thinks his distaste isn’t too obvious on his face any longer. “Harry, why are you settling for that?”

Harry looks confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Louis begins, huffing. “I mean that you’re a brilliant, fit boy that could literally have anyone that he wants. So why are you settling for someone who’s only using you for sex and to keep up an image.”

Harry bites his lip, looking at his shoes.

Louis stops and looks at Harry. The thing Louis’ noticed about Harry these past few days, is that he’s really emotional. He wears his heart on his sleeve. And right now, Louis can see plain as day that Harry is sad.

Louis puts a finger under Harry’s chin and tilts his head up. He then moves it, turning Harry’s head so that Harry’s green eyes are looking into Louis’ blue ones.

“I want you to be happy,” Louis declares, because he feels like it’s the right thing to say. “And you don’t _look_ happy. And as your friend that hurts me.” Louis gulps. “I’ll do _anything_ to help you find someone else, someone that makes you happy.”

And as soon as those words leave Louis’ mouth, he realizes how true they are. Sure, he still has feelings for Harry, but he understands now that he cares about the curly-haired idiot so _deeply_ that he’ll stop at nothing to give him what he deserves: happiness.

“I’ll think about it,” Harry mumbles, voice thick. “Breaking up with her, I mean.”

“Okay,” Louis sighs. “I’m not trying to make you miserable, Hazza, I really _do_ want you to be happy.”

Harry smiles warily. “I know you do, Lou. I guess it’s why I like you so much.”

Louis flushes and as he looks down, he hears Harry’s phone go off.

“’Lo?” Harry asks, picking up the call. “Yeah? Okay, we’ll be right down.” He ends the call and pockets his phone, standing up and holding out a hand for Louis. “C’mon,” he urgently demands.

“Where’re we going?” Louis asks, accepting Harry’s hand and the help he receives when standing up.

“Do you trust me?” Harry asks earnestly.

Louis blinks and slowly nods. “Yeah I do.”

“Then c’mon!” Harry cries, running down the bleachers whilst holding Louis’ hand. Louis tries not to fall over his own feet and in the end, when they step on the field again and begin running towards the front of the school, Louis contains his scream because Harry is _still_ holding his hand.

Once they’re at the front of the building, Louis sees an SUV waiting. Harry tugs at his hand and the two walk towards the vehicle, hands intertwined.

As they approach, a woman gets out of the car. She’s short and petite overall, with medium length blonde hair that has purple and grey highlights throughout. She smiles brightly and waves at the two boys.

Harry lets go of Louis’ hand and runs into the arms of the woman, who giggles, kissing her lightly on the cheek. Louis looks on and does _not_ feel jealous.

“Louis, I want you to meet my friend Lou Teasdale.” Harry says to Louis. Then, “Lou Teasdale, this is my friend Louis Tomlinson.”

Lou sticks out a hand. Louis smiles at her. “It’s a pleasure,” he says, accepting her handshake.

“All mine, really,” she responds, still smiling. Louis likes her. The smile seems genuine.

Lou finally looks back to Harry, who’s looking on with amusement sparkling in his eyes. “Ready to go?” She asks.

“Yep!” Harry exclaims. Then Harry looks at Louis. “D’you mind riding in the back?”

“Erm, nope,” Louis says, shrugging.

“Good. This way,” and with that, Harry leads Louis over to one of the side doors. “But first, I’d like you to meet someone.”

Harry opens the door and Louis looks on with wonder.

When Harry steps aside, Louis sees a little baby—who can’t be older than a year and a half—sitting in a car seat and sucking on a pacifier. She’s got a tiny wisp of bleach blonde hair sitting atop her head in a mini pony tail, and chubby, rosy cheeks. Her eyes are big and round and _very_ blue, and she looks up questioningly at Louis.

Harry smiles, cheeks dimpling. “This, Louis, is baby Lux.”  


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's so fluffy I'm going to dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
> 
> tumblr: burberrharry

Louis is watching the houses go by as he looks out the window. He’s trying to make it seem like he isn’t eavesdropping on Harry and Lou’s conversation. They’re currently discussing Harry’s relationship with Taylor, and Harry is describing a recent date that was a “complete fail.”

Every time Taylor is mentioned, Louis feels sick to his stomach because a) he remembers that he’s on a quest to steal someone else’s boyfriend and b) he realizes how difficult it will be to get Harry to let go of his relationship with Taylor.

He’s frustrated, but not enough to stop hanging around Harry. It’s almost as though, in the couple of days that he’s actually gotten to know him, he’s started likingHarry more. But Louis can’t believe that that’s even possible; he’s not too keen on admitting it, but he thought he knew everything there was to know about the curly-haired boy.

But he was terribly wrong. In the short time he’s spent with Harry, Louis has started seeing a side to the boy that he didn’t know even existed.

It’s like people have built this _persona_ for Harry. They talk about him like he’s the best thing to ever walk the planet but the truth is, no one really _knows_ Harry because he is such a private person.

But now that Louis’ gotten a peek into _who_ Harry actually is, he’s quite pleased. If he had been head over heels for Harry before, he’s surely only crazier for him now.

Harry’s got this wicked sense of dirty humor that he always uses and he laughs at Louis even when Louis isn’t trying to be funny and he smiles so brightly when Louis gets awkward and then he pokes fun at Louis’ awkwardness and Louis knows that all of those things should tick him off but they don’t. Because Harry is real with him—real like he isn’t with everyone else. He does those things because he finds a friend in Louis. He goes out of his way to make sure Louis is enjoying himself and he talks to Louis without being judgmental and to be honest, that’s all Louis could ever want: someone that treats him like he’s _worth_ something.

And here, sitting in Lou Teasdale’s car with a baby next to him, Louis’ heart rate increases once more because he realizes that he can do one of two things: he can continue to pine after Harry until Harry starts noticing Louis’ infatuation, and then proceeds to stop talking to him all together because he thinks Louis is creepy, _or_ he can start focusing on only being Harry’s friend and leaving the rest to just happen on it’s own.

Louis’ throat constricts at the thought of not being friends with Harry anymore; he figures that subtlety is the way to go, and if they’re meant to get together, then they will.

Louis turns to the baby, who is looking up at him with large blue eyes. He starts making silly faces at her and she giggles, flailing her arms in excitement.

Upon hearing Lux’s giggles, Harry turns around and sees Lux extending her hand to Louis.

Shocked, Louis takes the baby’s hand and shakes it once. Then he places her hand on his own plam, and starts tickling.

Lux shrieks with joy and Harry beams at her and Louis, thrilled they’re getting along.

“You’re quite good with kids, Louis,” Lou points out.

“I love kids,” Louis responds, smiling Harry’s favorite smile (the one that makes his eyes crinkle).

“D’you have any siblings?” Lou asks, looking at him in the rear-view mirror.

“No,” he shakes his head. “But I worked in a day care last summer. It was really nice.”

“Really?” Harry asks, shocked.

Louis nods.

“Maybe i should hire you to babysit my little monster, then,” Lou winks. “I bet _you_ wouldn’t forget to feed her, unlike some _other_ babysitters I know.” She pointedly glares at Harry.

“That was one time!” Harry protests.

Louis snorts. “You babysit Lux?”

“All the time. That’s what we’re gonna do now.”

Louis scrunches up his nose in detest. “So you’re telling me, you told me to ‘clear up my schedule’ so I could _babysit_ with you?”

“Basically,” Harry grins. “Why? Did you want to do something else?” He wiggles his eyebrows.

Louis leans forward and pokes Harry’s dimple. “Don’t get your hopes up, Styles.”

Meanwhile, Lou laughs so hard that Louis is afraid she might actually crash the car.

“Maniac, you are,” Harry mutters in Lou’s direction. “You’ve got two fit boys and a baby in your car, yet you still choose to drive recklessly.” He tsks.

(Louis tries—and surprisingly succeeds in—controlling his excited shriek. Harry called him fit!)

“Oi! I can kick you out if you want to walk the rest of the way!” Lou leans over to flick Harry on the nose.

“Eyes on the road!” Louis cries, joining in the banter. “’M too young to die!”

Lou turns around to look at Louis, scandalized. “You’re picking sides!? How rude!”

“I’m only looking out for your baby! And myself!”

“What about me?” Harry asks, pouting.

“What _about_ you?” Louis asks, smiling mischievously.

“Oh,” Harry says, nodding. “I see how it is.”

“Aww,” Louis laughs. “Don’t cry, Harry. I still love you!”

“Not enough,” Harry sniffles. “It HURTS! I HURT!”

“Stop screaming!” Lou frowns, shoving Harry. “You’re gonna scare me baby!”

“I’d never hurt my goddaughter,” Harry clutches his heart and glares at Lou.

“Goddaughter?” Louis asks, raising his eyebrows. “Aren’t you a bit… _young_?”

Harry shrugs. “Long story.”

Louis makes a mental note to ask Harry about it later. After Harry’s comment, it becomes naturally silent. Harry’s on his phone, jiggling his leg with impatience. Lou’s concentrating on driving-- _finally--_ since they’ve entered a neighborhood with a narrow road. Lux is sucking her thumb, and Louis, well. Louis is back to looking out the window.

When the car stops, they’re outside a small townhouse. Without looking up from his phone, Harry jumps out of the car and opens Louis’ door for him.

Louis smirks, “Why thank you, kind sir.”

Harry puts his phone back in his pocket and rolls his eyes. “Don’t push it.”

“Push what?”

“I don’t know. Let’s go.” Harry promptly turns on his heel and heads over to Lux’s door, taking out the half-asleep baby. “See you in a bit,” he calls to Lou.

At this point, Louis’ made his way over to Harry and Lux, and when Lou waves, he and Harry wave back. Then, Harry motions for Louis to follow him to the house.

After Harry unlocks the door, the three are met with a cool house (for which Louis is grateful, because it’s been terribly humid all day due to the incessant rain) that smells of baby lotion and pizza.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Harry whispers to Louis. “I’m gonna go put Lux in bed. Be right back.” And with that, he scurries down the hall.

Louis takes his shoes off and sets them on the mat in front of the door. He then wanders in to what he assumes is the living room, shouldering off his book bag and taking a look around.

The room is cluttered with baby toys, guitars and picture frames. Louis inspects the frames on the mantel and notices that most pictures are of Lou, Lux, and a man who he assumes to be Lux’s father. A couple of the pictures are of Harry, and Louis’ heart clenches once he notices the pictures of Harry from when he were younger.

The thing is, Louis didn’t always have a crush on Harry. He remembers a time when he used to just look up to him. Harry had always been the boy with radiating confidence, someone who everyone loved. And Louis, being the shy little boy who was always smaller than everyone (in size and in importance, he reckons) craved to be like Harry. He used to want an endless supply of friends; he used to want to be noticed.

But then, one day, Louis thinks he had an epiphany of some sort. All of a sudden he was comfortable with who he was and he didn’t want to be someone who he just _wasn’t._ He still would’ve liked to be outgoing enough to make some friends, but Louis realized that he was happy being “unpopular” for he turned out quite well.

Around the same time as the epiphany, Harry began to grow and his looks changed.

Louis remembers eating lunch in the courtyard one day, when, all of a sudden, he spotted a boy walking along the trail with his hands in his pocket.

Louis had quirked an eyebrow, wondering who the new eye candy was and why he hadn’t seen him before. Then, someone called Harry’s name and the curly-haired boy turned around. Louis’ jaw had dropped once he recognized who the boy was.

Harry had gone from a short boy with baby fat to a tall, muscular hunk. The transition from a cherub to a swimsuit model was so unexpected that everyone was, quite frankly, shocked. And even _more_ endeared (if that was even possible).

Louis smiles at the memories and walks over to the collection of guitars that litters the floor. He crouches down on the floor and looks about, aching to reach out and _play_ but at the same time hesitant, knowing he can’t touch what’s not his (how ironic, considering the Harry situation).

He hears footsteps on the creaking floorboards and turns his head to look in the direction of the living room entrance.

Harry appears soon enough, smiling down at Louis. “I see you’ve noticed Tom’s guitars.”

“All of these belong to one person?” Louis asks, sounding incredulous.

“Not really actually,” Harry says as he sits down on the sofa behind Louis. “Tom—who’s Lou’s boyfriend by the way, and Lux’s father—owns a guitar shop and repair.”

“Mmm,” Louis hums, turning to face Harry.

Harry nods. “I don’t know why he brings them home though. He never does any work on them or anything.”

“I’d take advantage of them if I were you.” Louis says, running his hand along a guitar’s strings. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to play.”

“I can teach you,” Harry offers almost immediately. “If you want, I mean.”

Louis grins. “Yes please! But is it okay with Tom?”

“Yup,” Harry affirms. “He doesn’t mind as long as we don’t smash them like rock stars.”

Louis chuckles. “I’ll restrain myself from going too crazy.”

“Okay then. I’ll show you how to play after we eat?”

“Eat? What’s there to eat?”

“Lou’s made pizza or something. Is that okay?” Harry stands up and stretches a hand out for Louis to hoist himself up with.

“More than okay,” Louis says, accepting Harry’s hand (and promptly ignoring the butterflies in his stomach).

Louis follows Harry into the kitchen. “D’you need any help?”

“Just in finishing this pizza,” Harry laughs, reaching into the oven and pulling out a cheese pizza. “Erm, it’s like, not hot. I don’t know. Should I warm it up for you?”

“I’m fine with it like this, actually. I love cold pizza,” Louis smiles.

“Hey! Me too!” Harry grins back. He then proceeds to place the pizza on the table, grabbing plates from the cabinets afterward. Handing one to Louis, he gestures towards the pizza. “Dig in.”

“Yum,” Louis sighs in bliss, grabbing a slice.

Harry does the same and the two boys walk back to the living room, sitting down next to the guitars once again.

They eat in silence, but one that is comfortable. The silence accentuates the tic-tock of the clock and the sound of the droplets of rain hitting the roof. Louis’ fairly certain that the erratic beat of his pulse can be heard, but he pretends that he doesn’t notice it.

Finally, when they’re done eating, Louis clears his throat. “Ready to teach me?”

Harry responds by picking up the nearest guitar. “Let me tune it up,” he says, concentrating quickly.

A couple of minutes pass and Louis is watching Harry’s nimble fingers with interest. He looks like he knows what he’s doing, what with his brow furrowed and his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. Louis giggles because it’s _cute_.

“What’re you giggling about, Tomlinson,” Harry says without looking up from where he’s tuning the guitar.

Louis leans forward and pokes Harry’s tongue without thinking. He suddenly regrets it when Harry looks up from the guitar with a frown on his face but then—

“How very dare you, Louis. You’ve completely _ruined_ my hard work.”

Louis laughs and shakes his head while Harry moves closer to him, placing the guitar in Louis’ lap.

“You’re a righty, right?” Harry asks.

Louis’ rolls his eyes at Harry’s choice of words but nods nevertheless.

Harry instructs him on where to place his hands and Louis obliges to his every instruction.

“I’m going to teach you how to play ‘Re: Stacks’ by Bon Iver,” Harry says quietly. (His voice is so raw and deep and he’s so _close_ to Louis that Louis can feel vibrations in his spine. He has to control himself from shivering) “It’s the first song I learned to play.”

“I love that song,” Louis whispers in awe. He looks up at Harry and their eyes meet, and suddenly Louis can’t see anything but Harry. His periphery goes blurry and his eyes are only able to take in the soft green he sees in Harry’s eyes that are directly in front of him. He wonders if Harry experiences these little bursts of amazement when they’re together. It seems like one moment, everything is normal and calm, and the next, everything turns electric, charged.

“Okay, start playing,” Harry says, not averting his gaze.

Louis nods and starts playing, recalling the way the song starts off. It takes a couple of tries but soon, with Harry’s help, he’s able to play the repeating chords.

Louis doesn’t hesitate before signing the lyrics he knows so well. “This’ my excavation and to----day is kumran. Everything that happens is from now on,” he takes a breath, still looking down at the guitar which he is, unbelievably, playing. “This is pouring rain, this is paralyzed.”

Before Louis has a chance to continue singing, he hears another voice. “I keep throwing it down two-hundred at a time.” Harry’s voice is raw and husky and so _pure_.

Louis looks up at him and sees a slight bush tinting his cheeks, his gaze piercing the floorboards. The sight and sound are both so beautiful and Louis just sits back, strumming the guitar, observing.

Harry continues, not missing a beat. “It's hard to find it when you knew it. When your money's gone, and you're drunk as hell.”

Louis keeps playing the song, watching Harry. “On your back with your racks as the stacks as your load,” both Louis and Harry sing together. They’re watching each other with wide eyes. “In the back and the racks and the stacks are your load. In the back with your racks and you're un-stacking your load.”

Soon, Louis’ hands stop moving on the strings and it’s quiet once again.

“I never knew you could sing like that,” Harry says, blinking.

“You’re one to talk!” Louis exclaims. “I’m nothing compared to you! That was brilliant!”

Harry grins, blushing and looking down at the floor once again. “I guess our voices actually complement each other quite nicely,” he says, biting back a smile. He can’t, though. Soon his dimple is peeking out.

“They do,” Louis sighs happily. “I really do love that song, anyhow.”

“Me too,” Harry agrees, nodding. “Bon Iver’s a lyrical genius. That song’s just so beautiful. To be honest, I don’t know how I didn’t cry!”

Louis laughs. “Same!”

All of a sudden, both boys hear crying coming from the baby monitor in the corner of the room.

Louis clutches his heart. “Scared the shit out of me,” He mutters, taken aback.

“Sorry,” Harry murmurs, looking sheepish. “I guess I should go get her?”

Louis bites his lip. “Mind if I come?”

Harry furrows his brow. “Can’t imagine why you’d want to, but sure.” He gets to his feet and leads Louis down the hall to where Louis assumes is Lux’s room.

Sure enough, they’re soon in a room that has a large king-sized bed in it. There’s also a crib against the wall and Louis can see two blue eyes staring back at him in the dark.

“Can you turn the lamp on?” Harry requests.

Louis does as he’s asked and then he heads back over to where Harry and Lux are. The baby is whimpering in Harry’s arms and his brows are furrowed again.

“What’s wrong?” Louis asks, unsure of who he’s talking to.

“I think she’s had a nightmare,” Harry whispers. He’s lightly rocking Lux, up and down, whilst her head rests on his shoulder.

Louis turns to look at the baby and sees two very sad blue eyes looking back at him. “Can I hold her?” He questions, albeit hesitantly.

“Hold your arms out and see’s willing to be held,” Harry replies.

When Louis does as much, Lux raises her head and makes grabby hands at him.

“Aww,” Louis coos, smitten. He then picks her up and nudges her head back on his shoulder. Lux sniffles and nuzzles her head into the crook of Louis’ neck.

Harry looks at the two of them, smiling. “She’s never taken to someone so—so _seamlessly_ before,” he comments with a hint of surprise.

“I’m Louis Tomlinson. Everyone takes to me seamlessly.” Louis winks.

Harry bites down on his lip, hard, trying to conceal his giggle.

Soon enough, Lux falls back asleep and the two boys head back downstairs. Harry teaches Louis how to play the beginning of a couple of more songs on the guitar and later, they sit on the sofa, talking over hot cocoa.

When Lou gets home later that evening, she walks in on the two boys fast asleep on the sofa. Harry’s stretched out across the length of the sofa, and Louis’ snuggled on top of him with his head on Harry’s chest.

And Lou doesn’t see it but underneath the blanket that’s spread out on top of them, Harry and Louis’ hands are intertwined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooooooo. Listen to "re: Stacks" by Bon Iver so you can understand the beauty that Harry and Louis wanted to cry about lol :))
> 
> Also, your comments keep me going! Thank you for reading!


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh!!! ThIs ChApTeR omg. 
> 
> tumblr: burberrharry

_I hate this class,_ Louis thinks as he imagines flinging himself off of a cliff.

It’s Monday morning and Louis’ first period business class is extremely humid. On top of that, Mr. Adams’ voice is so monotonic that he feels like every time he closes his eyes, he’ll fall asleep.

So instead of letting himself fall asleep, Louis busies his mind. But he doesn’t focus on class work, oh no.

He thinks back to that sacred time three week prior, when he and Harry had fallen asleep cuddling.

He remembers being warm and oddly enough, feeling protected in Harry’s arms. He remembers the adorable flush on Harry’s cheeks when Lou had woken them up, poking and prodding and _humiliating_ them by cooing, _“Aww, aren’t you two the sweetest little lovebirds!”_

And then, when Lou had dropped each of the boys off at their respective homes, she gave Louis this knowing look when he got out of the car. This look that said, _your feelings for him are showing plain as day on your face._ And since Lou had dropped Harry off first, Louis thinks she had given the same look to him when he had gotten up to leave. But he could be wrong; he doesn’t quite think the world loves him enough to let something that good happen to him.

He sighs and squirms in his seat, annoyed that he doesn’t have his glasses to fidget with anymore. Harry has been keeping up his role as Louis’ “wingman.” He still makes sure that Louis is dressed well—actually, better than well; he makes Louis dress so brilliantly that it makes everyone’s jaws drop—every day. And unfortunately for Louis, dressing well also includes wearing contacts, for some reason unbeknownst to him.

But one day, when Louis had asked Harry why he couldn’t just wear his glasses, Harry had replied “You need to show off those beautiful blue gems, Louis,” and Louis’ heart had probably skipped a couple of beats. So Louis no longer complains about it (too much).

Mr. Adams, who had gotten silent for a moment, then says, “Okay everyone. Partner up with someone around you and answer questions one through fifty.”

The class simultaneously groans. _I hate this man,_ Louis thinks.

Harry quickly turns around to face Louis. “I hate this man,” he says through gritted teeth. Louis snorts and Harry turns back around.

“Whatever you don’t finish is homework. It will be due Monday at the beginning of class.” The teacher sighs and sits down at his desk, shuffling through papers.

Louis pulls out his notebook and writes his name and date at the top of the page while Harry turns his desk to face Louis’. The two of them don’t get any weird looks anymore. It seems like the school has finally come to terms with the fact that the two boys are now friends. They even eat lunch together almost every day with Shelby and Niall. Save for the days when Harry has to force himself to eat with Taylor and his other friends. And even on those days he pouts at Louis and begs him to come up with a reason for why he should just skip lunch with Taylor.

But Louis, as much as it hurts, waves Harry off and tells him that eating with his girlfriend once in a while is a good thing. He doesn’t like doing it but sometimes, he has to remind Harry that if he doesn’t like spending time with Taylor, he should break up with her.

Yet every time Louis tells Harry that, Harry rolls his eyes and pats Louis’ shoulder before walking away to finally eat with his girlfriend.

And although Louis feels a little empty inside, he reminds himself that he needs to support Harry’s relationship with Taylor. He and Harry are best friends and if Harry wants to keep up his relationship, then Louis shouldn’t tell him not to. It is, essentially, none of his business.

“I don’t wanna do this work,” Harry whines, putting his head in his hands.

Louis makes a sound of agreement. Then, “I think Adams gets off to the fact that he ruins our lives,” he whispers, winking

Harry barks out a peal of laughter, causing heads to turn in their direction. He quickly covers his mouth with his left hand and then he says, “I’m pretty sure I’ve never made that sound before.”

A couple of people chuckle and roll their eyes fondly because, well. Everyone is a little bit in love with Harry Styles.

Harry bites his lip and flips a couple of pages in his text book. “Hey, Lou,” he says eventually.

Louis looks up from where he was writing. “Hmm?”

“I was wondering,” Harry says, sounding hopeful. “I mean, like, we have a footy match tonight? I wanted to know if you’d y’know. Come and watch?”

Louis smiles and puts his pencil down. “And why would you want me at your game, Harry Styles?”

Harry rolls his eyes and scoffs like the answer is obvious. “Umm, it’s because you’re my good luck charm, duhh.”

“Oh really,” Louis plays. “That’s funny because I can’t recall going to one of your games after since we’ve become friends.”

Harry blinks. “Well.” He thinks. “I got an A on a chemistry test after we became friends. I think that’s sufficient enough evidence of you being my good luck charm. Cos I was only ever getting B’s and C’s before.”

“No, you fool,” Louis snorts. “I _tutored_ you. That’s why you got the A.”

Harry crosses his arms over his chest and huffs. “Well I still think you’re good luck,” he mutters.

Louis rests his chin on his hand. “What am I ever going to do with you, Styles?” He sighs.

Suddenly, Louis sees the shadow of someone looming over him. Harry looks up at the person behind Louis and finally, Louis gulps and does the same.

It’s Mr. Adams. “Boys,” he says addressing the two. Then, “I see that _you’ve_ begun your work, Tomlinson.” He picks up Louis’ paper and reads. When he puts it back down he says, “As for your, Styles. Don’t copy Tomlinson’s work. We clear?”

Harry looks hurt. “Of course, sir. I would _never_ do that.”

“Mhm,” the teacher says, looking bored. “Okay well save the flirting for later and get back to work.”

Both boys blush furiously and look back down at their papers. After a couple of moments of silence that are filled only with the hushed whispers of their peers and the scrawl of pencil against paper, Harry speaks up again. “Hey, Lou?”

“Yes Hazza,” Louis replies, looking up again.

“Will you be there?”

Louis smiles patting Harry’s hand. “You can count on it.”

Harry beams and it momentarily leaves Louis breathless. “Good.”

“I’ll be the one with the gigantic poster,” Louis winks.

“Okay,” Harry replies, cheeks dimpling.

“I’ll ask Liam and Zayn if they wanna come,” Louis says later as he writes. He doesn’t notice the way Harry’s smile falters. “I don’t want to be sitting in the stands by my lonesome.” He pouts.

“What about Shelby?” Harry asks.

“She’ll be cheering, remember?”

“Oh yeah.” After a couple of moments of silence, Harry chuckles. “Niall’s gonna probably kiss her at every time out.”

Louis scrunches up his nose. “They’re so cute it’s disgusting.”

“Tell me about it,” Harry sighs.

The rest of the class passes by with the occasional banter, but for the most part, it’s uneventful.

When the bell rings, the class is quick to pack up their things and stream out the room, which they pretty much equate to hell. Louis and Harry are included in the stream of people and soon, they’re quietly walking to Louis’ class.

It’s become a sort of a routine, you see. The two boys always come to school together, go to first period together. Then Harry walks Louis to his second period class. Sometimes they walk while talking animatedly but other times, like this particular day, they walk in silence. A silence that is nice, albeit.

It’s never awkward between them. (Well that’s not necessarily true; sometimes there’s a sort of electricity in the room and everything feels so delicate—but even so, neither of the boys _does_ anything about it. They don’t really know what “it” is anyway, so what _can_ they do?) The silence they sometimes share speaks volumes, for it shows how comfortable they are in the other’s company.

The growing friendship has become a safe haven for both lads. For Harry, he’s found the true friend who he’s been searching for all his life. And for Louis, he’s finally found someone who is ready to give the nerdy and unpopular boy a chance.

(So maybe sometimes, both boys _do_ realize what the electricity between them is. But even so, they leave it be, because they don’t want to take a chance and ruin the wonderful friendship they now share.)

“I’ll see you at the game,” Harry says in his gravelly voice. (Louis has to physically restrain himself from shivering at the sexy tone that sends tremors up his back.) “I promised Taylor I’d take her out for lunch today, so.” He looks sheepishly at his feet and when he looks back up at Louis, there’s a slightly pink twinge on his cheeks. “Her parents aren’t home so like, we might. Y’know. Go to her house afterwards.”

“Ohhh,” Louis says finally after her understands what Harry’s implying. He shoves Harry’s arm, catching the curly-haired boy off guard. Harry looks alarmed for a minute and Louis laughs. “Get it innnnnnnnnn,” Louis smirks, wiggling his eye brows.

Harry laughs and shoves Louis arm gently. “I’ll see you.”

“Byeeeeeeeee,” Louis calls after Harry, who’s now walking away.

Harry waves and grins at Louis over his shoulder. When he turns back around, Louis watches Harry’s retreating back until he can no longer see him.

If he’s in a shitty mood for the rest of the day, well. Sue him.

And if he keeps wondering what Harry’s like in bed, then. Sue him?

***

When Louis had told Harry that he’d be the one with the big sign, he wasn’t joking.

After he had texted Liam and Zayn the details of the day’s earlier happenings, he had quickly busied himself in making a giant poster—which he covered in glitter (oops).

It read, “STYLES IS THE MAN!”

And of course, when Zayn saw it, he smirked and said, “Don’t you mean “Styles is _my_ man?”

Now the three boys are standing in the bleachers, waiting for the football team to walk out.

“Louis, you excited to see your man get all sweaty?” Liam jokes.

Zayn cackles. “What if he takes his shirt off?”

Louis groans. “Please, boys. No hypotheticals. I’m not even mentally ready to see him in action.”

“What kind of action?” Zayn says without missing a beat. He and Liam high five over Louis’ head and Louis facepalms.

“Why am I even _friends_ with you bozos?” He mutters.

Suddenly his two friends are squeezing the life out of him, hugging him from each side. “You love us, Lewis,” Liam grunts.

Zayn smacks a kiss onto Louis’ cheeks. “Don’t you forget that.”

Louis rubs his cheek, eyes wandering back to the field once his friends are finally off of him. He then sees an unmistakable blonde head run onto the field. “That’s Niall!”

Zayn and Liam turn back to the field too, and soon, all of the players are walking onto the patch. Niall heads over to the cheerleaders, kissing Shelby on the mouth three times. The crowd hoots and whistles and by the time Niall starts his trek to his spot in the net as the goalie, Shelby’s face is bright pink. She quickly turns to look at Louis, who waves back at her and laughs.

“I’m guessing that’s Shelby,” Zayn snorts. He and Liam then wave at the girl who looks confused for a millisecond but soon, the confusion is replaced with recognition. She grins from ear to ear and waves back with her pom-poms.

“Look! It’s Harry,” Liam says after a couple of minutes, pointing to the pitch.

“Ahh, the main attraction,” Zayn says, hitting his hip against Louis’.

Louis’ breath catches as he watches Harry walk towards the stands. He’s wearing black shorts and a tight white soccer tee that clings to his muscles. Louis tries to swallow past the lump in his throat. He suddenly feels lightheaded.

“Slap me if I’m visibly swooning,” he mumbles quietly. Liam and Zayn both slap his arm, hard. “Ow!”

“Well, mate. Stop swooning then!” Liam rolls his eyes.

Harry walks to over to Taylor who throws her arms around his neck and kisses him on the mouth passionately. Harry pulls Taylor towards him by her slim waist and deepens the kiss. Louis’ stomach drops.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Louis sighs pulling his sign down from where he had been lifting up into the air previously.

“Oi, cheer up,” Zayn pokes Louis’ side. “It’s all gonna take some time before everything falls into place.”

“I don’t know whether I believe that anymore,” Louis whines.

“Lou!” Liam exclaims, tugging on Louis’ arm. “Harry’s looking here! For you, I think!”

Louis bites his lip and stands up straight, holding the sign above him head and screaming along with his peers. Liam and Zayn chorus into a bunch of “Awww’s.”

 Louis’ looking at Harry, hoping that he can somehow catch his attention by jumping the highest in the crowd.

It seems like it works because soon, Harry is looking right into Louis’ eyes and his smile is so bright that Louis thinks the people at the bottom of the bleachers are being blinded by its force.

(You see, Louis thinks Harry’s smile is like the sun. It’s bright and bold and so powerful. A part of him thinks that he kind of needs it to live, just like he needs the sun.) 

They’re still looking at each other when a short boy pokes Harry in the stomach and says something to him that gets Harry blushing. Harry looks at his coach and visibly tenses. He turns to run back onto the field but hesitates. He looks to Louis again and gives him two thumbs up, smiling sheepishly.

Louis bites his lip and lets one hand fall from where it’s holding the sign up. He then gives Harry thumbs up with his free hand.

Harry winks and walks onto the field--and that’s when disaster strikes.

Because after that, Louis can’t seem to breathe. Throughout the entire game, his eyes tail Harry, watching him run around the field all sweaty with his muscles budging under his tight clothes.

He has to remind his dick—quite frequently--that he’s in _public_ and that it’s not socially _acceptable_ to get hard at a football game.

But it’s difficult because Harry just looks so damn _hot_ flitting around the field. He’s also yelling things at his teammates and that makes the veins on his neck pop out.

Louis is very aroused.

Zayn and Liam cheer for Harry but leave Louis alone for the most part. It seems that they understand not to bother him when he’s so carefully watching Harry move.

Unsurprisingly, Harry scores the winning goal and Louis screams the loudest in the stands.

Instantly, Harry’s smothered by his teammates .They all huddle around him and then, a couple of them carry him on their shoulders towards the bleachers.

Louis and Harry’s eyes reconnect finally, and Louis feels like he can breathe again. He’s still screaming and his beaming full-on; he’s pretty sure he looks like a crazy _idiot._

But when Harry beams back, giving Louis another thumbs up, Louis realizes it doesn’t even matter how he looks.

All that matters is that Harry’s happy.

***

After the game, Louis is walking away from the pitch with Liam and Zayn when his phone vibrates in his pocket.

He stops in his tracks and pulls it out, unlocking the screen and then reading the text from Harry:

_Harry (21:34): Meet me in front of the east entrance .xx_

“Erm, boys,” Louis says distractedly. Liam and Zayn stop walking and turn to look at him. “Harry wants to meet up.”

Zayn snorts, grinning. “’Course lover boy does. Give him congrats from us, yeah?”

“But don’t you guys wanna come with me?” Louis pouts. “It’s so dark and I’m all alone.” He makes a puppy dog face that he knows can’t be resisted.

“Aha, not working this time, Lou,” Liam says pulling Zayn’s arm. “Besides, he probably only wants to see you. I don’t wanna intrude.”

“You guys are the absolute _worst,_ ” Louis huffs.

Both boys laugh as they begin walking away. “Love you too!” One of them calls.

Sighing, Louis turns back towards the school and starts walking to the east entrance. He’s almost there when he hears someone call his name from somewhere behind him.

“Louis, wait up!” Some unrecognizable voice calls.

He turns around and waits and finally, when the person finally comes into view, he feels his eyebrows travel up into his hairline.

It’s Taylor.

“Erm, sorry. Were you calling me?” Louis asks, puzzled. He’s still holding his poster and he unconsciously brings it out in front of himself, almost like he’s using it for protection.

“Yeah I was,” Taylor begins. She walks up to him and stands really close, sizing him up. She’s a bit taller than him and Louis feels like a child in comparison.

“So what’s up?” He asks nervously.

“Mmm, nothing much,” Taylor begins, giving him a poisonous look with her eyes. “Just felt like I needed to tell you to keep your fucking paws off my boyfriend,” she says casually.

Louis feels sick. His body becomes rigid and he feels the blood flow out of his cheeks. “W-w-what?” He stutters.

“You heard me, Tomlinson,” Taylor spits out. “Don’t think I don’t know what game you’re playing.”

Louis takes in a deep breath and stands up taller, unwilling to let Taylor know what affect she has on him. “I’m not playing any games. Harry is my _friend._ ” He declares firmly.

Taylor cackles. In the dark, it gives Louis the creeps. He doesn’t know what this girl is capable of, but he _does_ know that he shouldn’t stick around to find out. “Nice fucking joke,” she says. The amount venom in her words is actually scary. “I know you’re trying to steal my boyfriend. Get the fuck away from him. He doesn’t want your dick!” She comes impossibly closer to Louis, poking his chest. “He wants _me_ ,” she says through gritted teeth.

Louis takes a step back, clam. He’s shocked at how well he’s keeping his cool. “I don’t know what you’re going on about! We’re just friends!”

Taylor scoffs, looking at Louis like he’s dirt. That look kills Louis more than any of her meaningless words ever could. “Then keep it that fucking way. I will ruin you if I find out there’s something more between you two.”

Louis opens his mouth to speak but before he can respond, he hears, “Taylor?”

The voice is one that he could point out in a crowd of talking people.

The voice belongs to Harry.

“Taylor?” He asks again. Then, more shocked, he asks “ _Louis?_ ”

Harry has caught up to them now. He’s walking with his eyebrows furrowed because the scene playing out in front of him is one so _foreign_ that he couldn’t even have imagined it in his wildest dreams.

Harry knows Taylor doesn’t like Louis. Just like he knows Louis doesn’t like Taylor.

“What are you two doing here?” He asks, confused.

“I was just telling Louis how much I _adore_ his poster,” Taylor smiles. It’s so _fake_ that it makes Louis’ skin crawl. “Feeble attempt, am I right?” She laughs loudly and claps her hands.

Louis feels his throat constrict and he forces the moisture he feels in his eyes to _stay in there._

“Hey,” Harry says, almost yelling as he stands in front of Louis. “Don’t talk shit about him.”

Taylor chuckles, looking at Louis with unmistakable disgust. Then, she turns to Harry. “Don’t have to protect him, hairbear,” she coos at him like he’s a child. “I was only joking.”

Harry turns to look at Louis who’s stonily staring into the darkness. “C’mon, Lou.” He says softly.

“What?” Taylor deadpans. “Aren’t you gonna come home with me?”

“No,” Harry says. “I’d rather not see you right now, if I’m honest.”

“What the fuck, Harry?” Taylor screams. “You’re gonna ditch _me_ for _him!?_ ”

“Yeah I am.” Harry clenches his teeth and tugs on Louis arm. “I’ll see you later.” The two start walking away when Taylor screams,

“I’m so much better than him, you idiot! Why would anyone everwant to be with him over me?”

Harry turns around, outraged. “Because you’re a bitch and he’s actually a _good person!_ That’s fucking why!”

Taylor stands there with her mouth open. “If you leave then don’t even bother ever coming back to me.”

“I won’t,” Harry affirms, pulling Louis’ arm. “Let’s _go_ Louis.”

They walk until they’ve gotten two blocks away from the school.

That’s when Harry notices the tears on Louis’ face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your kudos and comments! I really appreciate your kind words <3


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: there are a lot of /emotions/ in this chapter. (Shocker, ikr.)
> 
> tumblr: burberrharry

Louis feels like he’s being strangled.

(He has this problem. Basically, he tries to bottle up his emotions; but when he gets too overwhelmed, reality comes rushing in through the walls that he tries so hard to put up. Then, he gets shaken up violently. So violently, in fact, that when he does cry, sobs wrack through him and he feels as though his spirit is being sucked out of him.)

For a moment, he’s thankful that all of this had to happen at night. That way, Harry doesn’t notice Louis’ state until they both end up standing under a street light.

The thing is Louis thought that the walk would calm him down. He thought that maybe, however unlikely it seemed, he would be able to control his crying. But that was definitely not the case.

His lungs felt like they were on fire because of the way he restrained his intake of breath. He had tried to barely breathe because he felt like sobs would escape from his mouth, clawing their way out of his body. He didn’t want to seem weak in front of Harry but maybe that would’ve been better than taking short breaths at a moment like this. For now, he felt light headed.

But Harry has turned around to face him once he’s finally gotten under some light, however dim it may be.

The expression on Harry’s face makes Louis feel sick all over again.

Harry looks so _shocked._ The concern is evident on his face and Louis wants to punch himself in the mouth because he must look so _weak,_ so _frail._

And he wants to tell Harry that, _no! I’m not usually like this, I swear!_ He wants to make Harry think highly of him; he wants Harry to not regret the decision he’s made in choosing him over Taylor.

“Louis,” Harry whimpers. He sounds broken, and Louis can’t seem to figure out why that is. (He attributes it to the break up, though. It must be quite hard for Harry, right? He’s dated Taylor for so long. He did love her once. Yeah, maybe that’s it.)

Louis wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. He opens his mouth to say something but after a moment of silence in which he forces himself to _man up and speak,_ all that leaves his lips is a squeak.

And then he’s crying again. (In that moment, he hates himself _so much_ because he’s not strong. He never was, never will be. And boys like Harry don’t go after boys that continuously embarrass themselves. He had been so stupid, so naive to think otherwise.) His hand rushes up to clamp his mouth shut and he feels the sobs wrack through his body. He’s so exhausted and he would’ve collapsed.

He would’ve collapsed is Harry hadn’t embraced him right there.

Harry hugs Louis tightly, both arms wrapped around Louis’ torso like vines on an old Victorian building. Louis’ so taken aback by the sudden warmth around him that he lets his sobs escape all at once, suddenly too overwhelmed.

He really has no idea what’s going on.

Harry shushes him and whispers things to Louis, telling him _it’s going to be okay_ , with his lips ghosting over the shell of Louis’ ear. His warm breath tickles Louis and his heart shatters, not at the sensation but rather, at the fact that Harry cares enough about him to console him even when he doesn’t know why he’s crying.

Which reminds Louis...

After his intense crying has subsided, Louis sniffles and hiccups and untangles his arms from between him and Harry, finally bringing them behind Harry’s back to return the hug. “I’m sorry,” he whispers into Harry’s chest.

Harry brings his hand up to Louis’ head and cards his hand through Louis’ hair. “You don’t need to apologize, Lou,” he replies.

Louis hums and leans into the touch, too exhausted to move. “I think I should go home,” he says after a couple of moments spent in silence.

“Let me walk you,” Harry nods, tugging on Louis’ arm.

“It’s fine, Harry. I can go myself.”

Harry rolls his eyes and pulls Louis towards him. Louis’ breath hitches when Harry’s arm makes its way onto his shoulder as they walk.

They continue to trek in silence, but this is unlike all the silences they’ve endured. This one is full of tension and questions and utter _confusion,_ and before long, Harry can’t seem to take it anymore.

“Lou,” he says as they walk.

Louis looks up and sees that Harry’s eyes are trained on his feet. “What’s up?” He asks Harry nervously, and in reality, he _knows_ the question Harry’s going to ask before Harry even gets a moment to form it.

“Why were you—why did you let Taylor’s meaningless bullshit _get to you_ like that?” Harry sputters, clearly upset.

Louis clears his throat and pushes down the bile that he feels rising. “Forget about it, Harry.”

“I can’t just—Louis,” Harry says breathlessly. He doesn’t stop walking, although he finally raises his head and his eyes meet Louis’. “I don’t know about you, but I would call that a _breakdown_ back there. You don’t actually believe anything Taylor said, do you?” Harry’s eyebrows knit together in confusion.

Louis’ heart rate accelerates and he says the first thing that comes out of his mouth. “No way, Harry. I just hate that I…broke you two apart.” His bites his lip and turns his head in the direction in which they’re walking. He’s scared that Harry will be able to see through his lie.

But he’s probably a much better actor than he thinks because Harry buys it. “But you didn’t, Louis,” Harry laughs. “Don’t ever cry over… _us_ again. It was a long time coming, I guess.” Harry shrugs. “Plus I’d never be with someone who doesn’t like my best friend,” he adds on like it’s the most obvious thing ever.

Louis laughs but it comes out watery and more like a sob. _Best friend,_ he thinks. _You’ll never be anything more._

He relishes in the fact that Harry missed his emotionally unstable outburst, and before Louis can think himself into another deep hole, they’ve reached his house.

Harry walks Louis to the door and Louis smiles as he remembers the first time they did this, those few weeks ago.  He’s taken aback at how quickly time seems to fly by when he’s with Harry.

Louis twists the doorknob and is surprised to find that it’s unlocked. “Looks like mum’s home,” Louis mumbles.

“Alright then, I’ll take it that you’ll be in good hands?” Harry asks Louis earnestly, with his eyebrows raised and honestly, he looks so adorable that Louis doesn’t know whether or not he wants to punch him or kiss him.

So, he does neither and instead, he opens the door to his house and steps inside. “I’d invite you in but to be honest, I think I’m just gonna go to bed.”

Harry chuckles. “I figured. It’s been a mess of a day, hasn’t it?”

Louis sighs. “I guess it’s a testament to your character that you’re still here putting up with me.”

Harry frowns. “I’d like to think I’m not shallow enough to leave a friend when they’re having a rough moment.” He’s defensive and he turns to leave but before he can, Louis puts a hand on his shoulder and pulls him backwards.

“Harry, I didn’t mean it like that,” he says desperately. He’s not been having a good day and the fact that he has succeeded in even pissing _Harry_ off only makes him hate himself more. “Please don’t be mad.” His voice breaks on the last word and he clears his throat to hide it.

Harry heaves out a sigh and then turns around to face Louis. “I’m not even mad at you! I’m still fucking pissed because _Taylor_ made you cry.”

Louis’ shocked. “I told you it wasn’t anything like that, Harry.” Then, more frantically, “Don’t say anything to her, she’ll only get madder.”

“Well fuck if I keep quiet,” Harry mutters, head ducked down.

“What?” Louis asks, having missed what Harry said.

Harry smiles at Louis, tired. His arms encompass Louis in another hug and this time, before he fully pulls away, he quickly pecks Louis’ cheek. “Sleep tight.”

Louis’ face burns and he struggles to even out his breathing. “I’ll see you,” he says breathlessly.

Harry smirks at Louis’ flush and turns around, heading in the direction of his house. But instead of watching after him like he usually does, Louis rushes through the front door, locking it behind him with shaky fingers.

He gives himself a moment to calm down but he can’t seem to. He’s feeling so many things at once and his senses have heightened all of a sudden. He walks over to the living room on wobbly legs having heard the soft noise coming from the TV.

Jay is sitting on the sofa with her glasses perched on her nose. Her body is being engulfed by the blanket as she watches The X Factor. The sight makes Louis’ throat close up even more and his eyes brim with tears for some odd reason.

“Mum,” he says, voice cracking. He brings his hand up to cover his mouth before his body starts shaking with sobs once again. And he’s so tired; his body is completely drained and he’s crying but he doesn’t know _why_ because his emotions are all over the place.

“Louis,” comes Jay’s panicking voice. “Louis!” She cries, voice wobbly. Her heart jolts at the question of why Louis looks like such a mess, why her son who is so well put together is, all of a sudden, looking like he’s fallen apart at the seams. She rushes over to him and grips him by the shoulders, pulling him towards the couch. She sits him down next to her and he curls into her, crying into her chest.

Jay soothes him and rubs a hand on his back in a way that only a mother can. She waits for the crying to stop before she kisses Louis’ head and hurries into the kitchen to put the kettle on, also grabbing a glass of water for Louis.

Once back in the living room, Jay sits down beside her son again and waits until he drinks the whole glass of water. She pets his head until the kettle starts whistling and then she goes into the kitchen to make them tea.

While Jay’s gone, Louis’ eyes stray over to the TV where The X Factor is still on. He watches the program with an expressionless face. He’s still like that when his mother comes back.

Jay hands Louis his tea and sits down next to him before taking a sip from her own cup. She turns to face Louis and sits on the couch Indian style. Louis’ still got his eyes on the TV but Jay can tell that his mind is miles away.

She opens her mouth to speak but Louis beats her to it.

“Remember when I said last year that I’d love to go on The X Factor?”

Jay nods, unsure whether to smile. She simply doesn’t know what to say.

“I wasn’t kidding. But d’you know why?” Louis asks, gazing at the TV.

Jay shakes her head.

Louis turns to look at his mother and Jay’s throat constricts because he looks so _frail,_ so _exhausted._ And her son never deserves to look like this because he’s such a beautiful person. She wants to scream at the person who’s made Louis look like this.

Louis smiles but there’s no light in his eyes. It looks so eerie that Jay swallows thickly.

“I wanted to go on TV so that people would notice me. I wanted to stop being invisible. But then I realized one day when I was sitting in business class that even if I went on TV, people would turn it off just to get rid of me. No one cares about me, mum. No one’s ever gonna love me because I’m just a weak little _boy_ that’s nothing special.” Louis speaks with conviction. His voice doesn’t waver and no tears fall down his cheeks.

It’s then that Jay realizes how much Louis believes his own words. It seems like he’s made up his mind about this ages ago. Her mouth goes dry at the thought.

She puts her cup down at the table and then takes Louis’ out of his hand. She takes in a deep breath before letting it out. Then, she turns Louis’ face so that he’s looking straight at her.

“Don’t you _dare_ speak like that, Louis Tomlinson,” her voice is shaking and he figures she must look insane but really, what does it matter? “I love you more than I love myself. And it’s not just because I’m your mother.” She takes in another deep breath to steady herself. “Louis, you’re a _delight._ You’re such a wonderful person with a beautiful personality and it doesn’t even matter that you’re quite! People _love_ you when they start to get to know you!” She lets go of his chin and throws her hands up.

“Liam and Zayn both love you more than anything! You mean everything to them! And Shelby? The few times she’s been around she’s made it clear how much she treasures you! And do _not_ get me started on Harry!”

Louis flinches at the mention of Harry’s name.

“Harry _adores_ you Louis! You’d have to be extremely thick not to see that! And it may not be the way you want but it’s surely _getting there!_ ” Jay finishes her rant by combing her hair back with her fingers. “You matter to a lot of people, Louis. Don’t _ever_ think or say that you don’t because you need to remember that you’re the reason I’m alive!”

Louis’ eyes tear up again and he can’t meet his mothers gaze.

“I was a mess after your father left but to be honest, Lou, you’re the only reason I kept going. You’re the only reason I _keep_ going. Don’t you dare forget that.”

Louis scrambled into his mother’s arms like he used to when he was a kid, and the two of them sit in silence, sniffling every once in a while. It’s not a bad silence; Louis thinks it’s a silence that sounds an awful lot like healing.

He soon explains to his mother everything that happened that night. How Taylor made him feel, how Harry stood up for him. He has to literally _beg_ his mum not to go after Taylor (and he feels a little bit better knowing that someone cares enough about him to even think about revenge).

After the long story, Louis slumps back into the sofa. “I need to forget about Harry, mum.”

“Sweetie,” Jay hushes. “Give it time.”

“He’s only making me crazier! Don’t you have any friends with cute, gay sons?”

Jay chuckles. “I’ll see what I can do.”

It’s quiet and Louis feels safe in his mum’s arms. “Hey, mum?” he asks uncertainty clear in his voice.

“Yes, darling?”

“D’you mind if I like…not go to school tomorrow?”

Jay looks at the time. It’s half two in the morning. “I think that’d be for the best.”

Louis sighs. “Let’s go to bed then, yeah?”

The two leave their mugs on the coffee table and walk up the stairs. Jay follows Louis into his room and waits for him while he uses the bathroom.

When he’s brushed his teeth and changed into fresh pajama bottom, she tucks him in. “I could take a day off of work tomorrow, if you’d like?”

“It’s fine mum. I’ll be okay.”

Jay looks hesitant. “You sure?”

“Yes,” Louis insists. He pecks his mum’s cheek and she gives him a tight hug, kissing his forehead. “Sleep tight.”

“’Night mum,” Louis murmurs. He turns off the light and lays down in bed, cuddling up against his pillow.

He listens to the clock tick before he reaches his arm out to his night table. He blindly searches for his phone and when he finds it, he unlocks the screen with shaky fingers.

He’s been dreading looking at his messages. He sees a couple from Liam, Zayn, and Shelby (and even one from Niall) but then he also sees five from Harry. He groans internally before he reads them.

_Harry (23:06): How’re you doing, Lou? X_

_Harry (23:57): Everything okay, mate? Xx_

_Harry (1:25): Louis, don’t take anything she said to heart .xx_

_Harry (1:50): Lou? Sleep well okay? Love you, man .xx_

And the most recent one:

_Harry (2:05): I really care about you and I really hope this doesn’t change things between us .xx_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Umm I'm off school until Wednesday so let me know if you'd like another update? Thanks for reading & thanks soo much for your feedback! Your comments & kudos keep me going :-]


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well. sorry?
> 
> tumblr: burberrharry

The week following the Monday “incident” is definitely not one of the better ones Louis has experienced.

On Tuesday, when he stays home from school, Louis realizes that Harry will not _stop talking to him_ like he wants him to. (That is an odd thought for Louis to be having in the first place, considering the fact that all he wanted for the past few years was to be noticed by Harry.) But after Monday night, he comes to the conclusion that it would be best for him and Harry to not be friends. It seems like his friendship with Harry is only contributing to Louis’ anxiety “problem.” Forget the good stuff, like actually feeling _cared_ about at school for once; constant _desire_ is annoying when you can’t fulfill your craving. Therefore, Louis thinks it better to avoid said desire at all costs, no matter what he will be giving up in the process.

Harry calls and texts but Louis pointedly ignores the calls and reads the texts without replying. He does feel a pang of guilt every time he ignores something Harry sends him but in the end, he feels that if he ignores Harry long enough, he will get the hint.

First period Wednesday morning proves him wrong, though.

Louis is the first to class (as usual), but surprisingly, Harry is second. Louis is shocked at this new occurrence—he thought that if he wasn’t friends with Harry, Harry would go back to his old way: oversleeping and showing up to class late. Clearly, though, that isn’t the case.

Louis, nevertheless, tries to keep an emotionless expression on his face. After seeing the curly-haired boy walk into class, Louis turns to his phone and continues texting Zayn.

Harry sits down in his seat in front of Louis and immediately turns to face him. “Louis,” Harry breathes. He actually sounds kind of relieved.

Louis looks up from his phone for a minute, smiling slightly at the gorgeous boy seated in front of him. “Hey.”

“Where’ve you been? Did you get my messages?”

“My phone was off ‘cos I wasn’t feeling well,” Louis responds shortly. He grimaces internally when he sees Harry flinch. (Harry is _not_ used to Louis speaking to him coldly.)

 “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Harry asks after recovering from the shock that came along with hearing Louis’ bitchy attitude.

“I’m fine.” Louis keeps tapping at his phone, trying his best to seem like he is busy.

“Okay,” Harry nods once before turning around again in his chair. Then, a minute later, he turns back to Louis. “Hey, listen. I have footy practice after school, but like, you wanna hang out later?”

(Usually, Louis would’ve tried to control the fluttering in his stomach. The idea of being in Harry’s company is fairly new, after all. But instead, today Louis tries to control nausea. He can’t let himself get swept up under Harry’s charm. He needs to stay strong; he needs to beat temptation.)

“I actually need to catch up on some readings. So. I can’t.” He doesn’t look up from his phone, fearing that one look at Harry’s face might make him go back on his words.

“Oh. Well maybe I could, like, come over and we could do homework together?”

At this point, other students are filing into the room and Mr. Adams walks in too. Seeing him sit at his desk, Louis thinks up the perfect way to avoid any further conversation with Harry.

“Hey look, um. Maybe some other time? Er, I should go ask Adams what I missed.”

Harry looks at Louis, brows furrowed. “I could show you myself, y’know.”

Louis tries not to pull his hair out in exasperation. Harry is apparently quite stubborn. “It’s fine. I’ll ask him myself.”

Without waiting for a response, Louis gets up and walks to his teacher. After explaining that he was absent the previous day, Louis receives the paperwork he missed; when he goes back to his seat, the bell rings. Harry isn’t given an opportunity to speak to Louis for the rest of class.

Class is boring, as usual. When the bell rings to signal the _end_ of class, Louis rushes out of his chair and runs out the door before Harry can catch up to him. He decides that he will skip eating lunch and instead, sit at one of the computers in the newspaper office so no one can find him. He texts Shelby some excuse about a project he has to work on so he won’t be bothered when it’s lunch time. He also continues ignoring the messages he gets from Harry.

Harry had told Louis, when they had first started hanging out, that the football team practices after school every day until 6:30 PM. Louis knows that he can easily avoid Harry outside of school on weekdays. So right when the last bell rings for the day, Louis jumps out of his seat and rushes out of the nearest exit. He speed walks home and slams the door shut, running upstairs before he can catch his breath.

That’s basically how Louis manages to avoid Harry for the rest of the week.

Harry still makes attempts in trying to talk to Louis, but Louis continues to give short, blunt responses.

It’s a good thing that Harry doesn’t ask Louis again why his many messages are never replied to; Louis assumes that Harry has taken the hint.

Until, of course, Friday afternoon rolls around. 

***

Louis hops out of the shower and begins drying himself off with a towel. The hot water had felt nice against his skin after the horrifying week he’s had.

It’s only half past three on Friday afternoon and Louis’ excited that it’s finally the weekend. He sighs contentedly and after putting on some clean clothes, he heads downstairs to grab a snack to eat.

He settles on some milk and cookies, and he wolfs down the cookies before he’s even left the kitchen (what? He skipped lunch again). He’s about to head into the living room to watch some TV, but before he makes it in there, the doorbell rings.

 _I guess the postman’s here,_ Louis thinks. He takes a large swig from his glass of milk and skips to the door, opening it _before_ checking to see who it is.

He almost chokes when he sees Shelby and Harry standing at the door.

“I’m going to your room,” Shelby states as she pushes past Louis. “Don’t come upstairs until you’ve kissed and made up.”

Before Louis can even comprehend what has just happened, Shelby is jogging up the steps. He blinks.

Harry enters the house and closes the door behind him. His cheeks are tinged with pink and he’s pointedly looking at his shoes.

The first thing Louis can ask is, “How are you here?”   

Harry sighs, looking everywhere but right at Louis. “Coach is ill. He canceled practice today.”

The two boys stand in silence; Louis has no clue what to say.

“Look,” Harry starts, looking at Louis, finally, with glassy green eyes. “I didn’t realize how much Taylor’s words got to you. I honestly thought you were over it.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about that, Harry. What’s done is done.”

Harry frowns. “You ignored me for a week and acted bitchy to my face! How can I _not_ talk about it?”

Louis’ mouth gapes open. “Did you just call me a bitch?”

Harry completely disregards Louis’ comment. “I thought you were _different,_ Louis! I thought you were actually my friend! For the first time in my life I felt like I could trust someone that was my age. But I guess I can’t.” He rubs at his eyes. “I thought you knew how much you mean to me.”

Louis feels his throat close up. “Harry, I—“

“Forget it. I should probably go.” Harry sniffs and reaches for the doorknob. But before he can turn it, Louis’ hand is on top of his, and Louis is pulling him back, forcing Harry to face him again.

“I’m sorry,” he says, voice breaking. “I really didn’t know that you cared that much.”

Harry laughs humorlessly. His eyes are dark, the green murky. “My 250 text messages and 500 calls didn’t give you a hint?”

Louis swallows thickly. “I didn’t really read any messages the past couple of days.”

“Cut the bullshit, Lou,” Harry says, defeated. “You’ve been on your phone in first period every day since your return. I know you’ve been avoiding me.”

Louis looks down and sees that his and Harry’s hands are interlocked. His eyes well up with tears.

“Lou,” Harry says quietly, lifting Louis’ chin with the index finger that’s not busy gripping Louis’ hand. “I think the thing I’ve always loved about you is that you’re always honest with me. You have been since day one. Could you, like, maybe start telling me the truth again?”

Louis sighs and leans against the wall. “I just. I think that you deserve to be friends with people that are better than me. Like, Taylor was _right_. I’m not worth you giving up your popularity or whatever.” It doesn’t really break Louis, admitting that he’s worthless. Not really.

“Don’t say that!” Harry exclaims. Louis flinches at the sudden volume. “I don’t _care_ about popularity! I don’t _care_ what people think about me! I don’t _care_ about Taylor anymore!” He pulls out of Louis’ grasp and places a hand on both of Louis’s shoulders. “I _do_ care about my friendship with you, though. You’re like, one of the only _real_ people I’ve met and you’re so sweet and kind and funny and wow. I really can’t afford to lose you.”

Louis searches Harry face for any hint that he’s lying. All he finds, though, is sincerity, and the butterflies are back in his stomach again, fluttering wildly like they’re about to take off and fly up into his throat.

“So don’t listen to Taylor. She’s not worth your thoughts.” Harry sinks back suddenly, stepping away from Louis once he realizes how he was pushing Louis into the wall.

“I’m really, really sorry, Harry,” Louis mumbles, looking up at the curly-haired boy apologetically. “It was really fucked up of me to ignore you like that.” He sighs. “And contrary to what you think,” Louis pauses, reeling Harry in closer so that he can poke a finger in the spot where one of Harry’s dimples should be, “I’m quite fond of you.” ( _More than you’ll ever know,_ he thinks.)

Harry grins and the dimple appears where Louis’ finger is. Louis’ heart stutters when Harry surges forward and captures him in a hug.

They’re still hugging a minute later, and Louis’ lips are pressed up against Harry’s neck. “I think we should go upstairs now. Shelby’s probably bored to death,” Louis chuckles.

“C’mon then,” Harry says with an odd, mischievous glint in his eye.

“I know that look, Styles,” Louis says. “It always shows up on your face before—“

Before Louis can finish his sentence, Harry picks him up and throws him over his shoulder.

Louis shrieks. “Harry! What the fuck!?”

Harry giggles, running towards the stairs. “You asked for it, Tomlinson!”

“Fuck knows I didn’t!”

Harry bounds up the stairs and Louis shrieks again, shielding his head. He’s actually scared for his life.

“Oh nice bum, Louis,” Harry says once they’ve made it upstairs. “You don’t get complimented enough on it.”

Louis’ face burns. “Ha ha, very funny.”

“’M not telling a joke,” Harry says seriously. Then he giggles and squeezes Louis’ bum.

“Harry!” Louis cries. “I feel violated!” He says the last part as Harry bursts through Louis’ room’s door. He runs over to Louis’ bed and throws him on top of it. Instead of giving Louis some space, however, Harry straddles his thighs and begins tickling him.

“Oh my god!” Louis screams in between giggles. “Stop! Shelby! Help!”

Shelby rolls her eyes from where she’s sitting on Louis’ computer chair.

“Harry please!” Louis begs. (There are tears in his eyes at this point.)

Harry smacks a kiss on Louis’ cheek and rolls over, lying on the bed beside Louis.

Louis tries to control his breathing while Harry tries to control his laughter.

“You two are oblivious fucks,” Shelby says, rolling her eyes again. “So. Who’s paying for pizza?”

***

After the pizza arrives, the three friends laze around Louis’ room, talking about one particular thing the whole time: Louis’ “unidentified” crush.

“So Louis,” Shelby says as she examines her cheese pizza slice. “Tell us more about this _boy._ ” She grins devilishly.

“I don’t really think that’s a good idea—“ Louis begins. But then Harry cuts him off.

“No. Nope, you definitely _should_ tell us about this boy.” He wiggles his eyebrows.

Louis sighs and rolls his eyes. “I hate you two. A lot.”

Shelby snorts. “Mhm, okay. Sure you do,” she winks.

Louis puts his plate down and points at Shelby. “Fuck you, you little ninja.”

Shelby giggles. “Leave that to Niall.”

“Ewww!” Louis and Harry chorus. “TMI,” Harry says in a girly voice.

Louis looks at him. “That sounded very—and excuse me for being stereotypical here—gay.”

Harry pats Louis’ shoulder. “Solid attempt at changing the subject. Now describe your lad.”

Louis groans. “Do I _have_ to?”

Shelby laughs manically, clapping her hands. “Yes you do! You set yourself up for this.”

Louis glares at her while Harry says, confusedly, “Am I missing something here?”

“Just that Shelby’s a heartless punk,” Louis mumbles stuffing his mouth with pizza.

Harry cackles. “No Shelby’s great.” Shelby struts across the room to give Harry a high five and then she calmly skips back to her seat and continues munching on her pizza. “But enough with changing the subject. I asked for a detailed description!”

Louis pales considerably. “Well. He’s good looking.”

Both Shelby and Harry roll their eyes.

“What!?” Louis exclaims. “Umm, he’s got nice eyes?”

“What color,” Harry mumbles around his mouth full of pizza.

“Didn’t your mummy teach you not to talk with your mouthful?” Louis snides.

Harry flicks Louis’ ear. “What. Color.”

“I don’t know,” Louis says, flicking Harry back.

“You’re such a child, Louis.” Shelby throws her hands up and looks up at the cieling. “Why am I friends with you?”

“Oi, you love me!” Louis retorts, crossing his arms over his chest.

Harry giggles. “Aww, is wittle wouis a wittle mad?”

Louis’ eyes boggle. “Please, Styles.”

“Does he play footy with me!?” Harry says, almost excitedly. “Ohmygod if I know him I can totally hook you two up!”

Shelby laughs. It’s cut short by the knocking on Louis’ room door, though.

“Can I come in, Lou?” Jay asks, cautiously.

“’Course mum!” Louis calls back.

Jay opens the door and when she sees the people in Louis’ room, to say that she’s shocked is an understatement. “Oh—err. Hello you two.”

“Hi Jay!” Harry and Shelby chorus simultaneously, both letting out their ability to charm.

It looks like it works because Jay smiles back warmly. “How was school, Lou?”

Louis shrugs. “You can have some pizza, mum. There’re a couple of slices left.”

“Umm, actually Lou. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” She looks hesitant.

“Go ahead mum, they can hear. Unless it’s something really personal. In that case I can—“

“Oh no,” Jay interrupts shaking her head. “I’m just going over to Melinda’s house for dinner tonight. Her husband’s out of town so I thought it’d be nice to keep her company for a bit.” (Melinda is one of Jay’s good friends.)

“Oh okay,” Louis says.

“Umm, there’s something else?” Jay says, unsure.

“Yeah, mum?” Louis asks, taking a bite of pizza.

“Remember how you told me about, y’know. Like if I knew anyone—“ Jay gestures oddly and expectantly raises her eyebrows.

Louis swallows the pizza, cheeks pinking a bit. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Well there is someone I know. He’s Melinda’s nephew and he goes to Liam and Zayn’s school. Met him today, very nice lad.”

“Really,” Louis says. He can feel both Harry’s and Shelby’s eyes on him.

“Yeah! His name’s Will. He knows your friends so you can ask them about him. He says he’s seen you around with them at their footy games and stuff.” Jay winks. “Quite fit too.” She winces. “In a non-creepy way, though.”

Louis chuckles nervously. “I’ll text Ziam and ask them if they know.”

Jay smiles. “Alright babe. I’m gonna take a shower and then head out. You’ll be okay?”

“Yup!” Louis chirps. His cheeks are still burning but he ignores his friends until his mother closes the door. When she’s gone, he falls back onto the bed, groaning “Fuck me.”

“Ziam?” Shelby asks.

“Zayn plus Liam equals Ziam,” he calmly says back.

Harry squirms in his spot. “Is your mom looking to hook you up with someone?”

Louis groans again. “Long story.”

“You’re gonna let her do that?” Shelby asks, confused.

“Yup. I trust her judgment. And her taste in men.”

Harry and Shelby laugh. Then, Harry says, “Well. Ask Ziam for the last name, then.”

“Why?” Louis asks, looking up at him confused.

“So we can Facebook stalk him. Duh.” Harry rolls his eyes and looks at Louis like he’s stupid.

“Oh good point!” Shelby exclaims.

Louis pulls his phone out of his pocket and texts Liam. He listens to Shelby and Harry banter until he gets a reply. “Will Westforth,” Louis says.

“How do you know that’s definitely him?” Shelby asks.

“The boys go to a really small school. I doubt there’s more than one Will.”

Harry shrugs. “Bring the laptop, Shelby.”

Shelby brings over Louis’ computer and the three huddle around it on the bed.

Louis nervously logs onto Facebook and enters in the boy’s name. He clicks on the person that he has two mutual friends with.

There’s a collective gasp in the room.  

“Fuck,” Louis says, looking at the profile picture. “He’s hot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The amount of hits/comments/kudos this thing has gotten continues to fucking blow my mind. You're all amazing people.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's getting hot in here so take off all your clothes??????????
> 
> tumblr: burberrharry

“Wow,” Harry says, shocked. Louis smacks his shoulder. “Hey!” Harry protests.

“Eyes off my future man, Styles.” Louis does the ever so famous, _I’ve got my eyes on you_ gesture. Shelby snorts.

“Someone’s desperate,” she murmurs, rolling her eyes.

“How very dare you,” Louis rasps back.

Shelby’s about to retort but right when she opens her mouth, her phone rings. She runs back over to the chair where she was sitting. “Hey baby!” She giggles into the phone, twirling her hair.

Harry and Louis roll their eyes simultaneously and turn back to look at each other. Seeing the creepy mirroring of expressions, they both burst out laughing. Shelby gives them the finger and takes her phone call outside.

“Are you really going to date him?” Harry asks casually.

“Dunno,” Louis says, gulping. The truth is, he’s not completely over his crush on Harry (no surprise there). He’s torn between waiting for Harry--while knowing in the back of his mind that he could lose a friendship that he treasures so much—and pouncing on this hot boy that _wants_ to see him. In the end, it’s kind of inevitable what he has to do. He sighs and rubs at his eyes under his glasses. “I think we should look at more of his pictures to see what he’s like.”

Harry glowers at the laptop. “If he’s a slut, you can’t see him.”

Louis raises his eyebrows. “Um. What makes you think _you_ get to decide whether or not I can see him?”

“I’m only looking out for you,” Harry replies steadily, holding up his hands in surrender.

“Mhm.” Louis hesitates. “Plus I think I’d like to be with someone experienced,” he quietly says. He can feel the tips of his ears turns red; he hopes Harry can’t notice.

“You—what?” Harry blinks in surprise. “Huh?”

“Well I mean, like. I haven’t gotten to third base with a guy before so I’d like. Y’know.” He gestures into thin air vaguely.

Harry looks confused. His eyebrows furrow (adorably).

“I wouldn’t know what I’d be doing so like. It’d be nice to have someone guide me is all?” Louis rushes through his sentence, cheeks ablaze.

He finally brings his gaze up to monitor Harry’s reaction. Harry’s cheeks are tinged with pink too. (Louis thinks blushing looks quite nice on him. But then again, everything looks good on Harry Styles.)

Harry clears his throat. “Would you, like. Top or bottom?” He asks Louis this question faster than he’s ever said anything before. (Louis would probably congratulate him on the new found speed if he wasn’t busy being mortified.)

The butterflies in Louis’ stomach flutter nervously. “Like, I wouldn’t really mind. But I think I’d bottom first. Cos I can’t picture myself controlling someone else during sex. Yeah.” He nervously looks at Harry again, only to find the other boy staring back at him.

“I’ve never bottomed before,” Harry says. His voice cracks and he clears his throat to attempt a save. The situation is too awkward for it to go unnoticed, though.

Louis nods purposelessly. “So. You’ve had sex with guys.”

Harry fixes his hair and bites his lip. “Yeah. Just twice though. As like. An experiment or whatever.”

A hum escapes Louis’ mouth and before his brain can filter what’s coming out of his mouth, he says, “Was it nice?”

“Yeah,” Harry responds quickly. “Kind of amazing.”

“Wow. That’s good,” Louis looks to the door thinking, _where the fuck is Shelby?_

“You should. Y’know. Try it sometime.” Harry cringes. “Wait why the fuck did I just say that?”

Louis bursts out laughing, grateful for the distraction, and soon, Harry joins him.

A little later, when they’ve caught their breaths and are looking at each other a little stupidly, Harry says, “I could help you get some experience, if you’d like?”

Louis almost chokes on his spit. “What?” He exclaims. His voice sounds horrified when he hears himself speak but in reality, he’s honest to god _stunned._

“Oh my god,” Harry face palms. “That came out wrong. Like I meant I could like, take you to a club or something? Where you could hook up with someone? Unless you wanna save it for someone you love, because I totally understand that—“

“No,” Louis quickly declares. “I mean, I’d actually really like going to a party and like, I dunno. Practicing making out with a guy or something? I’m a bit rusty in that department. Haven’t gotten mischievous for a while.” He rolls his eyes at himself.

“Oh yeah, that would be great. It’s always good to know how to work your tongue.”

Louis snorts, leaning against the headboard of his bed. The awkwardness has somehow managed to seep out of the room. Now they’re just two mates talking about (gay) sex. It’s not _that_ weird. (Okay maybe it _is_ a bit weird, considering Louis’ feelings, but.) “Yeah I’d quite like to know if I’m good at giving blowjobs,” he wiggles his eyebrows.

Harry giggles (his cheeks are still pink). “Okay then, I have a suggestion.”

“What is it, boy?” Louis asks, poking Harry’s tummy.

“Come out with me tonight. We can go to an underground club or something and you can get as much experience as your heart desires.” Harry grins.

“I dunno, Harry. That’s not really my scene,” Louis says as he plays with a loose thread on his shirt nervously.

Harry gets up from where he was sprawled across the foot of the bed and moves to rest his chin on Louis’ knees (Louis’ legs are pressed up against his own chest). “Please?” He pouts, blinking innocently with his baby kitten expression.

Louis bites his lip and shrugs.

“C’mon Lou! I won’t let anything happen to you! Promise.” Harry says this sincerely, and it melts Louis’ heart a bit if he’s being honest.

“I’ll have to ask my mum,” Louis says.

Harry nods quickly. “You can sleep over at my house tonight! That way she won’t be mad if we break curfew?”

“What about your mum?” Louis asks. “Won’t she get mad?”

“Nah,” Harry shrugs. “We have a bit of an understanding. I don’t go out much, so sometimes when I do, I’m allowed to come home later. As long as come straight home.”

“Oh that’s cool.” Louis sighs, contemplating whether or not he should go out.

He figures it’s a good thing to meet someone for the night, just so he can practice his “moves” or whatever. Even if he does decide to meet Will, it’ll be nice for him to be prepared to kiss him and stuff. He knows he’s not going to go all the way tonight but he figures he might as well have some fun while he’s young and all.

“Should we go ask my mum, then?” Louis asks. He sounds hesitant.

Harry caresses Louis’ cheek. “I don’t want to put you in an uncomfortable situation, babe. Only ask if you really want to go. Otherwise we can pop in a movie or summat.”

Louis rolls his eyes and pushes Harry off of his legs. “I’m not your babe,” he winks. “You’ll have to take me out before that happens.”

“Well then! What’re we waiting for?” Harry exclaims, hopping off Louis’ mattress. “Let’s go ask your momma!”

Louis smiles and leads the way to his mum’s room. When they’re standing outside, he knocks at the door. “Mum? Can we come in?”

“Sure!” He hears his mum’s muffled reply through the door.

He twists the doorknob and he and Harry walk in. His mum is standing at her dressing table applying makeup.

“Louis. Harry.” Jay furrows her eyebrows. “What’d’you want?”

The boys laugh. “Cheeky,” Harry comments between chuckles.

“You know me,” Jay winks, turning around to face the boys instead of looking at them through her mirror like she was previously. “Seriously, though. What’s up?”

“Well mum,” Louis begins. “There’s a party tonight. And Harry asked me to come with him. So. I was wondering, like. Can I go?”

Jay nods immediately. “Sure thing, boo.”

Louis bites his lip. “Mum? There’s something else?”

Jay looks at Louis almost worriedly. “Hmm?”

Louis opens his mouth but before he can say anything, Harry’s talking. “I invited him to sleep over at my house. We might be a little late getting back and the party’s closer to my house, so I figure it’s easier for Louis to just crash at mine.” Harry sounds calm and collected and charming— _always so charming—_ and Louis is all kinds of jealous.

Jay blinks in surprise. “Louis? You sure about this?” She eyes her son carefully.

Louis nods. “It’s just Harry, mum. He’ll protect me.” He gives Harry an affectionate pat on the head, and Harry has to hold back a smile.

“Umm,” Jay says. She blinks again, clearing her throat and shaking her head once, almost as though she’s trying to clear her mind. “Harry, what’s your mum’s name?”

“Anne Cox,” Harry replies swiftly.

“And will she be home all night?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Jay nods. “Okay. Do you think I could speak to her on the phone, then?”

Louis groans. “But mum, is that _really_ necessary?”

Jay gives her son a warning glare. “If you want to sleep over at Harry’s, I’d like to speak with his mum.”

“It’s fine,” Harry says before Louis can protest any further. “Lou, go get ready. I’ll call my mum and wait here.”

Louis huffs out a breath. “Fine,” he says curtly before leaving the room.

(Louis puts on his tightest black skinny jeans--the ones that make his arse look fabulous--and a tight red button up shirt. He quiffs his hair carefully and puts in his contacts. While he does so, his mum is on the phone with Anne.)

After Jay gets the details straight with Anne (thankfully there’s no discussion about curfew—Harry’s truly giddy about that), she promises to chat later (seeing as their sons are such good friends now, Anne and Jay figure they should get to know each other) and hangs up the phone. She then looks at Harry with a look akin to pleading in her eyes.

“Harry,” she says steadily. “Don’t let anyone hurt him.”

“I won’t,” Harry promises unwaveringly.

“Listen,” Jay says, looking at the door to make sure Louis hasn’t arrived there yet. “Don’t tell Lou I said this, but.” She sighs. “He’s very fragile. Always has been. I don’t like to see him hurt.”

“He’s my best friend, Jay,” Harry replies. “He means a lot to me. I would _never_ let anyone hurt him. He doesn’t deserve it.”  

Jay smiles. She’s about to say something else but just then, Louis walks in the room, holding up his phone. “Shelby texted. She said she didn’t want to interrupt our ‘ _conversation_ ’ so she just left for her date with Niall.”

Jay snorts. “ _Conversation_?”

Louis sighs, coming over to hug his mum. “You _don’t_ want to know.”

Jay laughs. When Louis pulls back, she catches Harry ogling his bum. “Well then. Turn around, Lou. Let me see what Harry’s been staring at.”

“Hey!” Harry stutters.

Louis blushes furiously. “Mother.”

Jay giggles. “You look great, babe. Have fun. And don’t do anything you don’t want to do, yeah?”

“’Course,” Louis replies. He then tugs on Harry’s hand, leading him out the room door and down the stairs. “I’ll see you later, mum! I love you.”

“Love you too, boo! Call me in the morning.”

“Will do,” Louis calls from the porch.

Harry closes the door behind himself. He points at the one-shoulder bag Louis’ holding. “Does that have your clothes and stuff?”

Louis nods. “And my toothbrush. And my phone’s charger. And my house keys. Wait. Am I forgetting something?”

Harry chuckles. He pulls Louis roughly down the porch steps and onto the sidewalk. “You’ve got everything, Lou. You can leave that at my house.”

“Oh we’re going there first?”

Harry rolls his eyes. “You didn’t think I’d go to a party in my _school clothes_ did you, Lou?”

“You look fine to me,” Louis mumbles.

The walk to Harry’s house is short. Louis attributes it to the fact that he’s nervous and doesn’t really want to go to the club anymore. _What if I fall and everyone laughs at me? What if no one wants to dance with me? What if I lose Harry in the crowd?_ (He really hates his brain sometimes.)

They get to Harry’s house and Louis remembers the night of Harry’s party, when they first properly met. It seems like centuries ago.

The house looks quieter, cleaner, lived in. Harry unlocks the door and calls out “Mummy!” before holding the door open for Louis.

Walking into Harry’s house, Louis is suddenly nervous. He hopes—no he _prays—_ that Anne likes him.

“Harry?” comes a woman’s voice from the kitchen.

Harry leads Louis to the kitchen that Louis remembers so fondly. (As weird as it is, everything he associates with Harry, he thinks of quite fondly.)

In the kitchen stands a woman who looks very young. She’s grinning brightly and Louis instantly clicks where Harry gets his grin (and his striking good looks) from. “You must be Louis!” She exclaims, rushing over and capturing him in a hug. (Louis thinks, somewhere in the back of his mind, that this is also where Harry gets his love for hugs from.) “I’ve heard so much about you!” She says after they’ve hugged. She holds Louis out at an arms distance and looks him up and down. “Harry was right when he said you were gorgeous.” She winks.

Louis blushes.

“Mum!” Harry squeaks out.

Louis giggles finally. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Cox.”

“Call me Anne, dear,” she beams at Louis. Then she looks between him and Harry with a smirk on her lips. “You better go put in some extra work, Harry, if you wanna look as good as your friend.” She maintains her serious expression for only a minute before she giggles. “Go on, then. Shoo!”

“Oh mummy, I love you.” Harry rolls his eyes and pecks his mum on the cheek. “I’ll take your bag upstairs, Lou. Wait here, I’ll be right back.” With that, Harry’s gone, presumably to get ready.

“Can I get you something to drink, Louis?” Anne asks politely.

“No thank you,” Louis smiles. “You have a lovely home.”

“Aw, thanks darling! You excited about the party?”

Louis grimaces slightly. “A bit nervous, to be quite honest. Party’s aren’t really my thing.”

“Really?” Anne asks incredulously. “Doesn’t look like it.”

Louis snorts. “I tried!”

“Well you clean up very nicely, then.” Anne smiles.

They continue talking for a while and Louis surprisingly finds that talking to Anne is a lot like talking to his own mother. He hopes Anne likes him enough.

In a couple of minutes, Harry comes downstairs. He’s wearing black skinny jeans that cling to his legs like they were sewn on him. He’s also got on a loose, scoop-neck white shirt that reveals his delicious collarbones. His necklaces are bright in contrast to Harry’s pale skin. Louis gulps.

“Ready to go?” Harry asks, barely looking at Louis. “Mum can we take your car?”

“Sure,” Anne replies. “You’ve got the keys?”

“Yup,” Harry replies, jingling the keys in his hands. “I’ll see you in the morning. Love you!”

“Love you too, baby. Nice meeting you, Louis! See you in the morning as well, yeah?”

“Yeah!” Louis assures, smiling warmly at Anne. “G’night!”

The boys leave Harry’s house and settle into Harry’s mum’s Mercedes Benz. After they pulled onto the main road, Harry asks Louis, “Excited?”

Louis chuckles nervously. “Yeah,” he says. He sounds so unsure of himself and he groans internally.

“Every boy _and_ girl in there is going to be fawning all over you,” Harry says confidently.

“Me?” Louis asks in indignation. “Hell no. They’ll be all over _you._ ”

Harry cackles. “You’re _joking_ right? No one’s gonna spare me a glance when I enter with you!”

“If that’s what lets you sleep at night then whatever,” Louis banters.

Soon enough, Harry parks the car at a Sainsbury’s that’s open 24 hours. “Let’s go,” he says, hopping out of the car.

Louis quickly unbuckles his seatbelt, getting out too. “Wait. Why are we going to Sainsbury’s?”

Harry walks over to Louis and tugs on his hand. They both begin walking to the back of the store.

“Remember when I said this is an _underground_ club?” Harry asks later.

“Mhmm…?”

“Well, it’s literally underground.”

Louis’ eyebrows shoot to the top of his forehead. “Oh.”

“Yeah. The entrance is right there.” Harry points at very small shed.

“Are you fucking with me, Harry?” Louis questions.

“No! D’you trust me?”

 Louis sighs. “Yeah.”

“Good.” They’ve reached the shed and Harry knocks three times fast.

The door opens and out walks a big, burly man. He’s got a bunch of tattoos scattered around his body and Louis decided that he looks _very_ scary.

The man looks at Harry and recognition passes over his face! “Harry, m’boy! Long time no see!”

“Rizzo!” Harry exclaims. They do an intricate handshake-type thing that Louis can’t quite make sense of. “New ink?” Harry gestures to some tattoos on Rizzo’s arms.

“Yeah man! You like ‘em?”

“They’re wicked,” Harry says in awe.

Rizzo smiles and finally looks a little more to his right, finally seeing Louis it seems. “This your boyfriend?”

“This is Louis,” Harry replies. “Louis, this is Rizzo.”

“Hello!” Louis exclaims, smiling. He’s really nervous and excited (and a bit giddy because Harry didn’t correct Rizzo when he called Louis Harry’s boyfriend).

“Alright?” Rizzo asks, shaking Louis’ hand.

“Yeah mate, and yourself?”

“Great! Well I won’t take any more of your time, yeah? You lads go have fun.”

“Thanks mate. See you later.” Harry smiles and tugs Louis into the shed with him.

Inside, the shed is actually much smaller than what it looked like on the outside. There’s no room to walk, only a chair in the corner (Louis figures Rizzo was sitting there—although he doesn’t quite understand _how_ because Rizzo is so _big_ and the char is, well, not) and right in front of the door they entered from is a giant staircase leading downstairs. The little platform they’re standing on is shaking from the thumping music coming from downstairs.

“C’mon!” Harry screams.

Louis takes a deep breath and follows Harry down the stairs. There are people all over the place, grinding on each other like today’s the last day. The music is even louder downstairs and the strobe lights are flashing brightly all over the place.

The air is thick in the club and it smells like sex, which is a little alarming to Louis. But Harry doesn’t seem too concerned so Louis just follows him through the huge mass of people and towards the bar.

Harry leans over the bar to order six shots, three each. He grins at Louis when he hands him three glasses and Louis smirks back. The two of them take the shots quickly like it’s no big deal when, in reality, neither of them drink too heavily. By the time Harry drags Louis to the dance floor, Louis feels like a weight has been lifted on the shoulders.

“Dance with me!” Harry screams in Louis’ ear. Louis nods and lines himself up, face to face, with Harry. They start hopping along to the beat of the song, grinning at each other madly in the process.

When the current fast tempo song changes to one that’s a bit slower, thicker, heavier, _dirtier,_ Louis almost shies away. But before he can, Harry reels him in, putting two of his gigantic hands on Louis’ waist. “That was hardly a dance, babe,” Harry says in Louis’ ear. He sounds a little breathless and it sends shivers up Louis’ spine.

“Babe?” Louis asks, smirking. (He thinks the alcohol gave him some kind of confidence—he has every intention of flirting with Harry while he can.) He looks up at Harry from under his eyelashes.

Harry’s eyes have turned a dark shade of green. He bites his bottom lip and turns Louis around, bringing Louis’ back flush against his chest. His hands are still on Louis’ waist, and he’s slowly rubbing circles on Louis’ hip bone. “Show me what you’ve got, Tomlinson.”

Louis wants to moan; the atmosphere is _doing_ things to him. There are so many people packed together around them and they’re pushing Harry and Louis closer together, almost impossibly close. He supposes he should continue to make use of the situation, though. So he brings his hand up and around the back of Harry’s neck and at the same time, he turns his head to face Harry, whose lips are parted slightly, looking sinful. “Bring it on,” Louis smirks.

When the bass of the song drops, Louis grinds his arse against Harry’s dick shamelessly.

He hears Harry’s breath hitch in his ear at the same time Harry’s grip around Louis’ waist gets tighter. Louis doesn’t even know what he’s doing but he figures it’s good. So he continues shimmying his hips against Harry. Eventually he starts sensually scratching the back of Harry neck slightly and he _swears_ he hears a moan escape Harry’s lips.

When the song comes to a close, Louis steps away from Harry and looks him in the eyes. Harry is flushed and his eyes are huge and round. He looks stunned and Louis simply winks at him and whispers a, _“See you later,”_ into his ear as he walks away.

Louis makes it a good couple of inches away from Harry before he sees a boy looking him up and down. He’s cute with blond hair and he essentially looks like he’s having a good time. Louis feels Harry’s eyes on his back when he walks over to the boy and tugs on the front of his shirt. The boy smiles down at Louis with big, grey eyes.

“I’m Maxxie,” the boy says.

“Louis,” Louis purrs in Maxxie’s ears. “Wanna dance?”

“Yeah, of course,” Maxxie breathes.

After dancing for a good while, Louis and Maxxie head to the back of the club. They start making out dirtily, almost viciously. Louis can feel Maxxie’s hand pressing onto his hard on. He moans into Maxxie’s mouth, overcome with lust.

He’s been bottling his lust for Harry up for so long that he thinks he just _needs_ a release with a bloke so he can finally get over Harry. But even when Maxxie is sucking Louis’ neck and palming him through his jeans, all Louis can think about is Harry and how it would feel if it were _Harry_ doing these things to him.

Nevertheless, he lets Maxxie take total control of him. They make out for a little while longer when, all of a sudden, Maxxie’s lips aren’t touching Louis’ anymore.

Louis’ eyes open and he sees that Maxxie has turned around and is talking to none other than Harry. He doesn’t really understand what’s going on but soon, Maxxie looks at him once last time before he sighs and walks away. Harry takes his spot immediately.

“What the fuck was that, Harry?” Louis asks. He’s not as upset as he sounds, but he supposes he should act like he is.

“You don’t even know him, Lou. Things were getting pretty intense.” Harry can’t quite meet Louis’ eyes. Louis feels sick.

“But that was the point, wasn’t it? To get me laid?” Louis’ shouting over the music but no one except Harry can hear him.

“I think we should go,” Harry says. He grabs Louis’ arm and starts pulling him towards the stairs.

“Harry, what the fuck are you doing?”

“It’s almost 2 AM Lou. We need to go back.” Harry’s still not looking at Louis.

“Fine,” Louis snaps.

They make it outside without a hitch and once they’re in the cool, spring air, Louis misses the loud music immediately. It was a good way to not have to _think_ for a while. But now he is buzzing; his mind is whirring and his heart is thudding madly in his chest. He’s still on some sort of high.

They walk side by side in silence to Harry’s car. Once they get inside and Harry starts driving (because he evidently did not have a lot to drink), it’s still quiet. Louis is sober enough that he notices that Harry is still not looking at him. He feels a pang in his heart.

“Why won’t you look at me?” He asks. He sounds tired, defeated almost.

Harry quickly glances at Louis, taking his eyes off the road for a second at the most. “Just did.”

Louis giggles breathlessly. Maybe he isn’t as sober as he originally thought. (He did have a couple of more shots with Maxxie; maybe they’re not completely out of his system yet.) “Are you jealous Harry?” He laughs more at the stupidity of the thought. Harry would never be jealous of _him_.  

Harry’s jaw clenches. He doesn’t say anything.

“Jealous I got to snog a fit bloke?” Louis continues to giggle. Then he hiccups. “Or are you jealous that he got to dance with me!?” He snorts and laughs boisterously. “Like that would happen!” He exclaims between bouts of laughter. (He doesn’t really realize what he’s said.)

Harry looks at Louis longer and his jaw unclenches. He sighs and his shoulders don’t look so tense anymore. He smiles warmly at Louis and rolls his eyes fondly.

Louis continues saying stupid things out loud for the rest of the ride and Harry giggles along every time he does. By the time they reach Harry’s house, silence has settled in the car again but this time, Harry gestures for Louis to get out with him.

They walk into the dark house quietly after Harry has locked the door behind them. “Wait here,” Harry whispers to Louis when they’re standing next to the stairs. Louis looks around the house and thinks about how everything seems do _different_ in the dark.

Harry returns shortly with two water bottles and a bag of chips. “Follow me,” he whispers again.

Louis does as he’s told and climbs the stairs behind Harry. They soon enter a room and when Harry flicks a switch, the room lights up with pink and blue fairy lights.

Louis takes a look around; Harry’s room is quite different from his. Harry has a bunch of band posters on his walls and he’s got books and CDs lying all over the place. “I love this,” Louis whispers.

He walks over to Harry’s bed and collapses on top of it. He takes in a deep breath, sniffing in the scent that is so unmistakably _Harry._ All of a sudden, he’s really grossed out though.

He sits up really quickly. “Did you and Taylor have sex in this bed?”

Harry’s eyebrows furrow. “No.”

“Okay good,” Louis says, relieved. He lies down once again. “’M tired,” he says as he yawns.

“Go to sleep, then,” Harry chuckles. He begins shredding his clothes, taking off everything but his boxers.

Louis shrugs to himself and does the same. When he’s done, he takes a quick swig from the water bottle. “Should I sleep on the floor?”

Harry frowns. “No idiot. You’ll sleep on the bed.”

“Then where will you sleep?”

“With you. On the bed. Because it’s my bed.”

Louis frowns. “I’m fine with sleeping on the floor.”

“Louis. Please listen to me and get into bed.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “Okay, okay. Gosh. You’re so _pushy._ ”

Harry laughs and goes to turn the fairy lights off. When he comes back, he slips into bed next to Louis.

The two lie in the darkness for a while.

Then, “I’m sorry about ditching you,” Louis mumbles into the darkness, apologetic.

“It’s fine. I wanted you to have fun anyway. Did you have fun?”

Louis smiles and turns to look at Harry. Their faces are inches away from each others. (Louis takes a moment to commit to memory how extraordinary Harry looks here under the moonlight that’s shining through the thin curtains. His cheeks are glowing and his eyes are bright and even though he always looks beautiful, Louis thinks he looks exuberant in the moonlight.) “I had a great time,” he whispers, snuggling his face into Harry’s neck. “Thanks for taking me.”

Harry’s arm snakes around Louis’ body and he brings Louis closer to him. He presses a kiss to Louis’ hair. “No problem, Lou. Goodnight.”

“Night, Harry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So like. Hi. I made a [playlist](http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv_4VD82gz7Kks78qxGFcDOWnqaqcvSJg&feature=mh_lolz) for you to listen to. If you'd like. It's the music that "was playing" at the club. :DD


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! happy birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh wait nvm wrong follow up to 'surprise' well this is awkward wow um oops ignore that????
> 
> tumblr: burberrharry

The first thing Louis notices when he wakes up is how angelic Harry looks when he’s asleep.

Secondly, he notices that Harry’s arm is still tightly wrapped around his waist.

Finally he realizes how _close_ they are.

He blinks twice, stomach fluttering with nerves. He thinks he should relish the moment while it lasts because in reality, he’s probably never going to experience something like this with Harry again. _Ever_ again.

He breathes out deeply through his nose. And then he mentally kicks himself because Harry wiggles his nose like a freaking _bunny._

“Lou,” Harry whispers eventually sounding very much awake, even though his eyes are still closed. “You up?” His face is so close to Louis’ that Louis can feel Harry’s breath on his skin. It smells minty fresh and that makes Louis very self conscious.

He moves over in bed so that instead of facing Harry, he’s facing the ceiling. Then he decides it’s safe to speak. “I don’t even feel hung over. Like not at all.”

Harry chuckles throatily. “Same. I wonder why.”

“What time is it?”

Harry moves around in the bed, trying to read the time. Louis misses the warmth of Harry’s body pressing onto his immediately. But before he can get sad, Harry’s holding him again; this time, it feels like his grip has gotten tighter. “It’s 4 in the afternoon,” Harry laughs. “We slept for like, 13 hours.”

Louis sighs. “I supposed I should go brush my teeth then.”

“Mmm, okay,” Harry says, nuzzling his face into the side of Louis’ head.

A moment passes. Then, “Harry. The only way I can get up is if you _let go of me._ ”

“D’you have to brush your teeth? Can’t you stay here and cuddle?” Harry sounds like he’s pouting.

Louis turns his head to face Harry and sure enough, Harry bottom lip is jutting out and his eyes are bleary and round and pleading. He shoves Harry’s chest and Harry whines but nevertheless, he lets Louis get away.

Louis rolls out of Harry’s bed and picks up his bag from where it’s perched on Harry’s desk chair. He walks into the bathroom that’s in Harry’s room and quickly closes the door behind him.

The first thing he does is turn on the tap. When the water runs and he’s no longer encompassed in silence, Louis feels like he can finally breathe properly without having to worry that he’s being overheard or something. He takes a long look in the mirror and shrugs; he knows he could probably look much worse.

After taking a piss and brushing his teeth, Louis contemplates whether he should stay in the bathroom longer. Should he make a game plan? Or should he just go back out to Harry’s room and go with the flow?

Honestly, he’s just tired of thinking of weird plans and tactics to get Harry to fall for him. (Also, more recently, he’s tired of trying to get Harry _out_ of his mind.) So he takes a couple of deep breaths and before he can think things any further, he opens the bathroom door and steps out.

Harry still sitting in bed but he’s furiously typing away at his laptop. Louis--being the crazy idiot that he is--runs and belly flops on to the bed. He effectively scares Harry, who squeals and almost throws his computer on the floor.

“What the fuck,” Harry says, panting. “Do you enjoy giving me heart attacks?” His face is flushed and Louis is suddenly hit with memories of the previous night.

He smiles smugly. “Yes,” he rolls his eyes like it’s obvious. He then inches upward and caresses Harry’s cheek in his hand. “I seem to remember from last night that blush looks very nice on your cheeks,” he whispers seductively.

Harry’s face darkens a few shades and his mouth hangs open. Louis bursts out laughing.

“Oh my god!” Louis manages to get out as he tries to breathe. “I can’t believe you, Harold!”

“Not my fault that your voice gets all sexual when you speak like that,” Harry mutters.

Louis almost chokes on his spit. “What?”

“Look whose Twitter I found,” Harry says, desperate for a change in subject.

Louis tries to calm the butterflies he feels again (and ugh, why does he _always_ get butterflies in his stomach around Harry, even after all this time?) as he looks down at the screen. Harry is, in fact, on Will’s Twitter page.

“Why’re you stalking Will?” Louis asks, confused.

“You jealous?” Harry retorts, smirking.

“Didn’t say that I was, did I?”

“No, but you sure look it.”

“Shut up.”

“No, you shut up.”

“I told you to shut up first.”

“Well I told you to shut up second.”

Louis rolls his eyes and slams his palm on Harry’s mouth. “Now shut up while I go through his pictures.” With that, Louis takes the laptop out of Harry’s hands and places it on his own lap, ignoring Harry’s muffled protests.

After he’s got the laptop settled, he takes his hand off of Harry’s mouth. “Dick,” Harry mutters.

“You love me,” Louis says. (On the inside, he’s nervous and scared after he realizes what he has just said. But when he actually hears himself say the words, they sound smug and careless. He supposes that’s a good thing.)

Louis ignores the thoughts that are violating his mind (like how good of an actor he’s become around Harry) and instead, clicks the pictures at the side of Will’s profile.

Harry sighs and rests his chin on Louis’ shoulder. Together, they look through the many pictures Will has posted. There are shots from nights out with his friends, from school, from the mall, from London. And all Louis thinks is how _wrong_ it feels going through a boy’s pictures. Well, a boy who is not Harry.

Louis can feel Harry watching him. “What?” he asks, tired.

“You don’t look as thrilled as I thought you would,” Harry observes.

“It’s just,” Louis rubs at his eyes. “I think I’m kind of forcing all of this on myself.”

“How do you mean?” Harry asks, sounding confused.

“Like,” Louis bites his lip. “Don’t make fun of me if I tell you, though.” He says quickly.

“I would never,” Harry replies sincerely.

Louis figures honesty is the best way to go here. “I told my mom to set me up with someone because I wanted to get over my crush.”

“And?” Harry questions. “How’s that working out for ya?”

“It’s not,” Louis laughs humorlessly. “Am I pathetic? I think I’m really pathetic.”

“Well you’re not,” Harry murmurs in Louis’ ear. He brings his arms around Louis and cuddles him close. “I don’t think you should force anything on yourself. Especially not Will.”

“So Will’s a ‘thing’ now,” Louis states, quirking an eyebrow as he turns to look at Harry.

Harry shrugs. “I think he can’t be trusted.”

“And why is that?”

Harry points to the computer screen. “Anyone who’s thick enough to support Real Madrid over Man U cannot be trusted.” He shakes his head looking disappointed.

Louis laughs, eyes crinkling. Harry looks at him, overjoyed that he made Louis look like that.

“Want some breakfast?” Harry asks later, when Louis is still smiling at him.

“No. I want lunch.”

Harry rolls his eyes. “You’re lucky I like you. Otherwise I would’ve kicked you out by now.”

“I don’t believe that for a minute,” Louis replies. He gets out of bed again and follows Harry into the hallway. The house is quiet; Louis thinks they’re alone.

“You’re right,” Harry replies without missing a beat. “You’re too pretty. Although, I’d quite like to make you my slave.”

“Ohhh, what _kind_ of slave, Harry,” Louis asks, wiggling his eyebrows. (Flirting with Harry seems to be second nature to him now.)

Harry blinks, unfazed. “Obviously my sex slave, you dolt. How many times do I have to tell you I want your bum?”

“Maybe the more you’ll tell me, the more likely I’ll be to sleep with ya.”

“I’d be too rough for you, Lou. You can’t handle me.”

The two boys walk into the kitchen and immediately stop dead in their tracks. Sitting at the barstools with smirks on their lips are their mothers.

“Oh god,” Harry and Louis groan at the same time.

Jay and Anne burst out laughing.

“Is there something you’re not telling us, boys?” Jay asks, crossing her arms over her chest. She’s trying to stop laughing but it clearly isn’t working, what with the giggles escaping her lips every couple of seconds.

“It’s not what it sounds like,” Harry pleads. The blush is darkening every couple of seconds on his cheeks, as is Louis’.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Louis whines, putting covering his face with his hands.

Anne snorts. “Harry, grab a plate for you and your ‘sex slave’ and pour some pasta for yourselves.”

“I thought we were alone!” Louis exclaims, walking over to the stove.

“Kinda glad that you weren’t,” Jay says, looking at Anne with her eyebrows raised. “Who knows what would’ve been happening in this kitchen right now.”

“MUM!” Louis exclaims, throwing his hands up. “COULD YOU _NOT_ DISCUSS MY NON-EXISTENT SEX LIFE!?”

“Sorry baby,” Jay says apologetically. Then she smirks evily. “But you know I’m right.”

“Oh my god why are you my mother why am I your son why is this my life,” Louis babbles incoherently as he takes a plate from Harry, avoiding eye contact.

They both pour some pasta for themselves while their mothers continue snickering. The hairs on the back of Louis’ neck are standing up.

After grabbing a water bottle each, the boys quietly leave the kitchen and head into the living room. They sit down and Harry turns on the TV. _Friends_ is on so they both sit quietly and watch Ross and Rachel bicker while they eat.

“I hate my mum sometimes,” Harry mumbles after a while.

“Same,” Louis agrees immediately. “I mean. What even was that?”

“I sometimes think women are insane.”

“That’s why I like men,” Louis says, chewing thoughtfully.

Harry cackles. “Good decision on your part.”

“Tell me about it.”

A few more minutes pass in silence, except from the occasional snort that comes from a boy when something stupid and/or funny happens on the show.

The adverts come on and Louis sits up when the trailer of a rom-com plays. “Don’t laugh but I really wanna see this,” he says, almost embarrassed.

“Why would I laugh when I wanna see it too?”

Louis looks at Harry--for the first time since _the_ _kitchen incident_ \--when the trailer ends. “You’re joking.”

Harry shakes his head, curls bouncing. “I’m a hundred percent serious.”

Louis looks him up and down. “Wanna go see it tonight? It came out yesterday.”

“Let’s do it,” Harry agrees. “Should I check the timings?”

“Sure.”

Harry pulls out his phone and taps away while Louis looks back at the TV. “The next showing is in 45 minutes.”

“That’s perfect. Should we go get ready?”

“Yeah. Let’s.” Harry stands up, taking his plate and Louis’.

“Aww, look at you. Ever the kind boyfriend,” Anne says from the doorway of the living room.

Harry jumps. “Mum! Seriously! Get a grip!”

Anne chuckles. “Are you two going on a date tonight?”

“No!” Harry and Louis protest at the same time, cheeks burning.

“Doesn’t sound like it to meeeeeeee,” Jay choruses from the kitchen.

“I’m going to get ready now,” Louis says through gritted teeth.

Anne and Jay laugh when Louis marches up the stairs.

Needless to say, he’s absolutely _mortified._

***

The ride to the theater is uneventful; Harry and Louis spend it thinking up lengthy ways to seek revenge on their mothers.

“I would never be able to do any of that,” Harry says when they’re standing in line to buy tickets. (He’s referring to the list of evil things he and Louis had just come up with.)

“Ugh same,” Louis groans. “I love my mum too much.”

“I’m probably gonna forget this whole ordeal and be her best friend again when I get home.” Harry sighs.

“It’s a difficult life,” Louis replies. They’re at the front of the line now. “Am I paying for your ticket or what?”

“Don’t be silly,” Harry rolls his eyes. “Two tickets for _Safe Haven_ please.” He pulls out his wallet.

“Hey!” Louis protests. But before he can reach for his wallet, Harry hands some cash to the girl working the ticket booth. When she hands him the tickets, he chirps a “thanks!” and drags Louis to the snack line.

“What was that?” Louis asks, confused.

“I bought two tickets,” Harry replies. “What do you want to eat?”

“You’re dumb,” Louis mutters. “And we just ate. I’m only going to get fatter.”

“Don’t be silly, Lou. You’re perfect. Is popcorn and two cokes fine?”

“I’ll only say yes if you let me pay.”

Harry stands with his lips pressed tightly together.

“Jerk,” Louis scoffs.

When they get to the front of the line, Harry orders the snacks while Louis looks around. He’s looking near the bathrooms when he finds that someone is standing there, staring at him with interest.

It’s a tall, blonde someone. A tall, blonde, female someone who’s got a smirk on her lips and distaste oozing out of her eyes.

“You have _got_ to be kidding me,” Louis whines. He turns back to tug on Harry’s sleeve and when Harry looks down at him, he nods his head towards where Taylor is standing.

“No way,” Harry groans. Then, “Why is she looking at us like that?”

Louis shrugs and grabs his drink and the bag of popcorn. “I dunno, but I think we should get out of here before she can catch up to us.”

Harry nods, picking up his own drink from the counter. “Let’s go.” He holds onto Louis’ arm and drags him into the theater.

The two end up enjoying the movie thoroughly. It’s cute and kind of heartbreaking at the same time, but they enjoy it nevertheless. There are a lot of giggling and hushed whispers and cackles and stolen glances but it is a rom-com after all; you leave the theater feeling different from how you did when you came in.

They end up sitting really close together and cuddling. Harry had lifted the arm rest that was between them right when the movie started. Louis thinks it’s nice being this comfortable with someone. He wouldn’t mind doing this with Harry for years.

When the movie is over and the two boys are walking silently to Harry’s car, Louis says, very quietly, “Thanks, Harry.”

“What for?” Harry asks, eyebrows furrowed.

“For being a really good mate to me. I love having you around.”

“Well I love being around you, Lou.” Harry smiles sincerely.

In the car ride over to Louis’ house, Harry plays a CD with beautiful music softly in the background of their conversation. Louis recognizes Lana Del Rey’s voice and instantly begins listening carefully to the song that he loves so much.

 _“_ _Hold me in your arms_  
Love me like your best friends did  
Promise, I won't hurt you kid  
Hold me really tight until the stars look big  
Never let me go…”

 Louis stiffens. This song is all that he wishes he could tell Harry.

He wants Harry to give him a chance; Harry always declares that their friendship is amazing because it’s based on _honesty_ and Louis wants to _be_ honest with Harry. But he knows he can’t because he’s too scared of what might happen if he ever _is_ honest with Harry.

 _“_ _If you love me hardcore then don't walk away_  
It's a game boy  
I don't wanna play  
I just wanna be yours  
Like I always say  
Never let me go…”

Louis’ throat tightens up. The song hits too close to home. He’s starting to feel like the relationship he’s developed with Harry is based on _lies;_ he feels like all of this is a game.

Harry thought Louis _was_ being truthful with him but in reality, Louis wasnever honest with.

Louis’ overcome with guilt immediately. He feels sick to his stomach at the realization and his palms become sweaty. But before he can throw up or do something worse, Harry pulls up to his driveway.

“I had a great time, Lou,” Harry grins. “I’ll see you.”

“Yeah,” Louis says, voice breaking. “Um. I should. Go.” He grabs his bag and smiles at Harry. “Thanks. Yeah. G’night.”

“Night!” Harry calls.

Louis doesn’t watch Harry pull away, though. His hands are shaking as he runs up the porch steps and unlocks the front door. He has just been hit with the inevitable; he has just now realized what he has to do.

He has to tell Harry the truth about his crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song mentioned is "Never Let Me Go" by Lana Del Rey. Thank you soo much for reading! I love hearing back from you guys it literally makes my life 449494498932209454839239 times better I


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one’s for Ryan and Aisha; two avid readers who encouraged me to write even when I thought I couldn’t. For Shelby, because she’s a lovely person who inspires me with her love and kindness and shows me that there still are beautiful, wonderful people in this world. And for Marya, who taught me what love is; who taught me that true friendship runs deeper than bloodlines, that true friendship etches the name of someone into your heart and leaves you wondering what you did in order to deserve that person; you’re my everything. And, of course, to all my readers: yall are the reason that I breathe. Oh and no, this is not the last chapter; I just had to get some thank yous out of the way. :)

It’s been two weeks since his epiphany in Harry’s car and Louis _still_ hasn’t been able to pique the courage to tell Harry about his crush.

It’s definitely not his fault though. He’s waiting for the perfect moment to ease Harry into the idea. But since exams are coming up, the time that the two boys _do_ spend together is mostly filled with studying.

Harry’s busy with football in all his spare time and Louis is busy with, well. Studying, mostly. He had taken a bunch of difficult classes this year and he wants to get the best marks in each subject so that the Uni he goes to in the fall will be impressed with his scores.

He also has a bunch of last minute bake sales to organize and help carry out for all the clubs he’s a part of. So in actuality, it would’ve been near impossible for Harry and him to hang out.

But, in order to salvage their friendship, Harry decided to come over to Louis’ house rightafter football practice every afternoon so they could study and do homework together. Unfortunately, though, the workload is so heavy that there’s barely enough time for each boy to acknowledge the other’s presence unless he’s asking a question.

Louis still doesn’t think it’s the right time to tell Harry about his crush--which has only grown in the last couple of months—because, well. Neither of them havethe _time_ to actually talk about anything other than school.

So, one day Louis decides to get help elsewhere. Before Harry’s due at his house from practice, Louis goes to visit Zayn and Liam.

It’s on a Wednesday afternoon that Louis calls up his best friends. They meet up at the ice cream parlor across the town park and when Liam and Zayn show up, Louis can’t help but notice the look his friends share after gauging his appearance. Louis knows he looks tired and stressed out but he fights the thought of it being because of his “secret”; rather, he continues to attribute it to the fact that he has been studying so rigorously for the past couple of days.

 Other than exchanging a few pleasantries, no one really delves into the conversation until the three are walking through the park, each boy with his ice cream cone in his hand. Louis can’t build up the energy to walk and eat at the same time and he can’t help but frown down at his ice cream cone. The stupid thing seems to only be causing him more stress.

 Louis can feel the worried glances that his friends give him. He knows they’re upset because _he_ is so obviously upset. (The three have known each other for so long that sometimes it feels like they’re connected emotionally. When one boy feels sad, the other two can’t help but feel just as down; the only good thing about being connected emotionally or whatever it is, is the fact that they can also feel each others’ happiness.)

Louis abruptly stops at a large sycamore tree. The leaves are blowing softly in the wind and it’s then that Louis notices that it’s really quite beautiful outside. It’s not too hot or humid like it is in the summer; there’s a light breeze that kisses his skin every time the wind skitters past.

Liam takes a seat on the grass under the tree. “Sit,” he commands, and Louis and Zayn do as they’re told (because Liam’s always been the leader and they’re used to following his orders).

Louis bites into his ice cream. His teeth are numbed by the cold but he’d rather feel some kind of pain than feel nothing at all.

“Why do you look like the walking dead?” Zayn asks. He’s trying to lighten up the mood by using a lame joke but it is evident in his tone that he’s actually curious, maybe even worried.

Louis shrugs. “I haven’t seen you boys in ages.”

Liam pouts. “Has Harry taken our place, then?”

Louis tries not to flinch when Harry’s name is mentioned. He finds it funny that a boy has kind of taken over his life. His mind is always filled with thoughts of Harry and he hasn’t noticed, until now, how prominent Harry was in his conversations with Liam and Zayn. It makes him a little sad, really, because he’s pinning over someone who he never had a chance with.

“You boys are the apple of my eye,” Louis says. He tries to conceal the wobbliness that his voice comes out with, but the smile he throws his friends probably looks a lot like a grimace. He realizes how sad his statement sounded when both his friends look at him with round, sad eyes.

“I look dead cos I haven’t been seeing you idiots. You fill me up with joy and since I haven’t seen you, I’m all sad.” Louis laughs and it comes out watery. He internally groans at himself.

Liam rubs Louis’ back soothingly. “Lou, what’s wrong?”

Zayn scoots closer to the other two so he can put and arm around both of their shoulders. “You know you can tell us anything, yeah?” Zayn whispers this like it’s a secret, even though Louis’ pretty sure that the three of them are the only people in the entire park.

“It’s just,” Louis begins. He takes in a deep breath and places a tissue paper on the grass. He then puts his ice cream on top of it. Louis’ stomach is quite uneasy with all the butterflies flittering around; he doesn’t think he can eat anything without throwing it up right after.

Liam and Zayn place their ice creams next to Louis’. They cuddle close to him and Louis is so _thankful_ for their friendship in this moment that he can barely stop the tears from welling up in his eyes. He doesn’t let them out, though. He wants to be strong.

“I’ve been lying to Harry,” he says then. He’s met with silence; the only thing he can hear is the wind blowing through the leaves of the sycamore. There are nimbus clouds in the sky that create an eerie sort of mood that Louis doesn’t really understand. Maybe it’s due to the fact that he’s finally admitting this out loud for the first time. He may not be admitting this to the right person, but he supposes he’s taking a good first step. Maybe saying this to his friends will help him finally say it to Harry.

“He hates liars. He told me that he loves our friendship because we’re honest with each other. But I’m _not_ honest with him. It’s like I’ve never told him the truth. If he finds out that our friendship was built on lies, he’s never gonna want to talk to me again.”

Zayn pulls away from Louis’ side and moves to sit in front of him. His brows are furrowed and he looks utterly confused. “Louis, mate. What the hell are you going on about?”

Liam rubs Louis’ back. “You need to be a little clearer, babe.”

Louis takes a shuddering breath. “I’m most definitely in love with him and he thinks I like someone else.”

The silence that follows is overwhelming. So much so that Louis thinks he might actually throw up. Zayn’s eyebrows are almost reaching his hairline and Liam has become stiff at Louis’ side, no longer rubbing his back. Louis feels very cold all of a sudden.

“You—you love him?” Liam questions unsurely. He moves to sit beside Zayn, in front of Louis.

Louis is looking down into his lap. He gulps and then nods once.

Then, one had is holding his and another is pulling his chin up. His eyes meet Zayn’s and he feels warm all at once, what with the way Liam is gently squeezing his hand on top of the way Zayn’s eyes are smiling into his.

“That’s great, Lou,” Liam murmurs. He doesn’t sound smug, he doesn’t sound sarcastic; he sounds genuinely happy and Louis thinks that he _himself_ should be happy. But he’s not.

Louis shakes his head. “It’s not, though,” he says sounding like a maniac. “He doesn’t _know._ And he most definitely doesn’t feel the same way about me!”

Zayn’s smile slides off his face. “How can you be so sure that he doesn’t love you if you haven’t even told him yet?”

“He’s Harry fucking Styles!” Louis exclaims. He’s tired and nervous and the combination is not doing good things for him. “He could have the world at the snap of his fingers! What the hell would he want with me?”

Zayn’s frown deepens and Liam scoffs. “Lou, you’re an idiot,” Liam mutters.

“I know,” Louis says resignedly.

“No! Not for the reason you think!” Liam lets go of Louis’ hand and throws his own in the air. “The bloody boy has been spending pretty much _every_ waking moment with you! How could you think that he doesn’t like you back?!”

Louis is quiet. Then, “He _only_ wants us to be friends.”

Zayn sounds frustrated when he says, “How are you so _sure_ , huh? Have you ever made your feelings known?”

Louis groans. “I only look at him like he’s the fucking sun that everything revolves around! How could he _not_ notice?”

“Louis,” Liam says through gritted teeth. “Not everyone jumps to conclusions like you do.”

“What do you even mean by that?”

“He means that Harry probably only thinks you like him as a friend _because you’ve been treating him like a friend._ ” Zayn stops and looks at Liam. Liam nods and then Zayn continues. “You’re a pretty good actor, okay. From how I saw you two interact, it didn’t really _look_ like you—y’know. Love him.”

“Maybe he thinks that you’re only interested in him as a friend,” Liam reasons. “You’ve gotta at least _tell_ him that you _like him_ like him so that you can know if he’s interested or not.”

Louis sniffs. “And if he’s not?”

“Then he’s not good enough for you,” Zayn declares.

“But what will _I_ do when he stops talking to me and—“

“Louis,” Liam says determinedly. “You’ll never know how he feels unless you talk to him.”

Zayn bites his lip. “We’re always here for you, mate. We’d never lie to you. And we’d stop you if you were walking into a fire.”

“But you’re not,” Liam assures. “Harry’s a really genuine guy; he’d never be rude to you and he’d never hurt you. He cares about you.”

“And I really do think he likes you too,” Zayn smiles.

Louis takes a minute to mull over what his friends have told him. He supposes he really doesn’t have anything left to lose. If Harry doesn’t like him back, then maybe it wasn’t meant to be. And that’s okay.

But if Harry does like him back, well. That’s okay too.

Louis smiles and pulls Liam and Zayn into an awkward hug. The three giggle when their limbs get tangled together, but no one minds. It’s a nice hug; a hug that symbolizes the strongest of bonds, the strongest of friendships.

Louis lets his boys go and springs to his feet. “I should go before the adrenaline rush blows over.”

Zayn and Liam chuckle and wave to Louis who has already began jogging out of the park. With his palms sweaty, his heart racing, and the ice cream cone he left behind long forgotten, Louis runs in the direction of his home.

But before he can get too far, he hears someone call his name.

Louis turns around, confused. He looks left and right and when he’s about to give up, he sees Shelby standing in front of the post office. She waves at him and he waves back.

He runs across the street and into her arms, picking her up and spinning her around. She giggles breathlessly and when he puts her back down on her feet, they’re both beaming.

“Guess what,” Louis says, giddy.

“What, what!?” Shelby replies, equally excited.

“I’m going to go tell Harry!”

Shelby’s smile falters. “Tell him what?”

“That I like him.”

Shelby squeals in delight and hugs Louis again so tightly, like she’s holding on for her life.

When she pulls away, he notices that her eyes are shining with unshed tears. “Don’t cry,” he murmurs.

Shelby laughs a watery laugh and pecks Louis on the cheek. “It’s just—well you don’t _just_ like him, do you?”

Louis bites his lip and shrugs sheepishly. “No, not really.”

Shelby sighs. “You’ll be prefect together, Lou. I think you’re soul mates.”

Louis laughs unabashedly. “A bit early to talk about that, no? I don’t’ even know if he likes me back!”

Shelby smiles. “I’m pretty sure that he does. After that day at lunch, what he said to Taylor in front of the whole school, I just. I was sure after that. Sure that he kinda really loves you too.”

Louis frowns, heart racing. “What day at school?”

Shelby furrows her brows. “Weren’t you there? When he yelled at Taylor in front of everyone?”

“Shelby. What the hell are you talking about?” Louis asks uneasily. His hands are shaking with nerves and tension.

“Oh my god,” Shelby whispers. She covers her mouth with her hand for a second and Louis feels like he’s going to faint. “You weren’t at school that day. I thought Harry’d’ve told you by now.”

“Told me what?” Louis sounds exhausted and weak to his own ears. Taylor just continues to _frighten_ him for some reason.

“That day after the whole—y’know. Incident. After the game.” Shelby looks at Louis, waiting for him to respond.

Louis nods his head for Shelby to continue. He doesn’t know what Shelby is going to tell him and that kind of freaks him out; it also leaves him speechless.

“Taylor approached Harry at our table in the courtyard and like, you _know_ our school.” Shelby rolls her eyes. “Everyone knew about the Harry and Taylor breakup and they were all talking about you and Harry. So Taylor comes up to us and is like.” Shelby gulps. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Louis. I’m telling you cos it’s important.”

Louis feels sick to his stomach but he nods anyway. His palms are sweaty and his hands are shaking and he feels like he’s gulping in all the air he can manage; he feels like he can’t breathe.

Shelby hesitates. Then with a sigh, she continues. “Taylor goes, ‘Did you fuck your boyfriend so hard that he couldn’t even come to school today?’”

Louis feels the tears prick his eyes.

“At that point, pretty much everyone in the courtyard was looking at our table. So Harry stands up and he says to Taylor, ‘You need to learn some respect and you need to get off your fucking high horse and stop bullying people that you think are beneath you. Louis is a _much_ better person that you could ever hope to be and if you _or anyone else_ has a problem with me and him being friends, I will sort that out for you if you voice your problems to my face.’” Shelby clears her throat. “I’m not even lying Lou. He said that.”

Louis’ stomach churns. He heaves out a breath that he didn’t even know he was holding and he brings his hands to his eyes, trying to push the tears back into them.

Shelby closes the distance between them and hugs Louis, murmuring comforting things into his neck. Louis feels a wetness on his shoulder and that only makes him cry harder because his friends care for him _so much_ and he just cannot _believe_ that he’s been privileged enough to meet such wonderful people.

After the tears have been shed, Shelby pulls back. “He really cares about you, Lou,” she says through sniffles. “He really deserves to know that you care about him too.”

Louis nods. “Thank you, Shelby. I couldn’t have ever asked for a friend as amazing as you.”

Shelby laughs as more tears spill out of her blue eyes. “Back atchya, bud. Now go talk to Harry.”

Louis hugs Shelby again and pecks her on the cheek, whispering an, _I’ll call you later,_ to her before he starts running towards home.

When he reaches his front porch five minutes later, his hands are shaking so much that he can barely open the front door. When he gets inside, though, he spots Harry’s trainers on the welcome mat.

Louis takes in a couple of deep breaths and he feels the adrenaline seep out of his body. He slowly walks up to his room and when he gets inside, he sees Harry lying on his bed.

Harry’s hair is wet and he looks comfy, lounging in a pair of sweats. When he notices Louis standing in the doorway, he smiles up at him, tired and warm, like a cat. “Hello,” he says quietly.

Louis smiles and bounds over to the bed, taking a seat next to Harry.

When Harry gets a good look at Louis’ face, which is probably puffy from all that crying, his smile falters. “Y’alright, Lou?”

Louis bites his lip and sighs. “No. But I will be.”

Harry looks confused. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing really, it’s just.” Louis runs his hand through his hair. “I need to be honest with you about something. D’you think we could talk for a bit?”

Harry sits up looking alarmed. “Yeah, of course,” he says, obviously concerned. He takes Louis’ hands in his own and Louis admires the way they look, intertwined like this. His small hands in Harry’s larger ones makes him feel _complete._ Protected.

Louis nods. “You’ve got to promise not to be cross with me, though,” he whispers. His throat is closing up and the frown on Harry’s face makes him feel like his heart’s going to burst.

“I could never,” Harry says steadily.

“Well you might after this,” Louis chokes out a laugh. His eyes are filled with tears again but he doesn’t even care, barely notices, because he’s finally about to do it. He’s about to tell Harry.

“You know my crush?” Louis asks finally. He looks up at Harry, whose eyes are round, sincere, and breathtaking.

“Well I don’t _know_ him cos you refuse to tell me, but. Yeah?” Harry looks nervous. (This is the moment of truth. Louis is _finally_ going to tell him who he’s crushing on.)

“I—I.” Louis feels his cheeks turn pink. “My crush—I. I like _you_ Harry.”

Harry blinks. He looks shocked. “C-come again?” He manages to squeak.

Louis’ cheeks are now flaming. He looks into his lap and sees that Harry’s hands are still in his. That must be a good sign? Or something?

“I like _you,_ Harry. No. Actually, I’m fairly certain I’m in love with you.” Louis gulps, still looking into his lap.

“Good,” Harry breathes.

Louis’ eyes finally meet Harry’s. “Good?”

Harry leans in. When his lips are ghosting over Louis’ and their nose are touching, Harry softly murmurs, “Yeah. Good. Because I can finally do this.”

Harry then proceeds to kiss Louis. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> on tumblr, i track burberrharry and ynk. come talk to me, i'd love to hear feedback ='.'=


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "it's like coming home.............."  
> k bye

When Louis was younger, he used to have this Superman action figure he was pretty much  _obsessed_ with.

On his first day of Kindergarten, his mum had allowed him—by some odd stroke of luck—to take his little toy with him. (When he thinks back on this now, he can easily conclude that his mum has always known him so well, even since the beginning. She probably understood that someone as shy as him would need a little something that reminded him of home when he finally went out on his own in the world. And although Louis was an adventurous boy from the start—someone who enjoyed shiny things and was always filled with a million questions—he was also a homebody at the same time. He had never found a place where he was as comfortable as he was when he was at home.)

So after he had shed some silent tears when his mum had to leave him with his new Kindergarten teacher, Louis pulled out his Superman action figure from his brand new backpack. With his large, wet blue eyes, he looked around the little room in wonder. He had never seen so many other little boys and girls in real life before.

He was nervous all at once and his breaths began to come out in little huffs when he thought that the other children may not like him. Even at such a young age, Louis always cared  _so much_  about what other people thought of him. And while he was lost in his thoughts, he accidentally dropped his toy.

Louis gasped and took a step back to look at the damage that the dropping of his toy had inevitably caused.

He began to whimper when he saw that the head of his Superman had broken off and rolled away.

He fell to the floor on his knees in a haze, anxious to pick up the broken pieces and put them back together before anyone looked his way. He didn’t want to look like a baby who broke his toys.

With that thought, Louis began to feel the familiar sting of tears again. And when he couldn’t find the dismembered head of Superman, he started feeling the fat tears rolling down his cheeks.

He furiously wiped at his eyes and began to stand up (thinking it best that he should go hide now that he has made a fool of himself). But in his haste to get up, he didn’t see the boy standing behind him.

“Oops,” Louis croaked when he bumped into the boy. He wiped his eyes again and finally got the courage to look up at the boy who he had almost run over.

“Hi,” the boy said. He was really—pretty, Louis concluded. His hair was a light brown shade and it was super straight. His eyes were big and green and they sparkled like two round jade gemstones in the sun. He was frowning down at Louis.

“What’s the matter?” Louis asked. He was nervous; he didn’t know why the boy was frowning at him.

“You—you broke your toy,” the boy responded solemnly. Then, he held out the head of Louis’ Superman toy in his little palm. “I’m sorry.”

Louis bit his lip. “Why? You didn’t do it, I did! I’m the klutz. It’s not your fault.” He could feel the familiar needles poking his cheeks, and he knew that he was probably as red as a tomato at that point.

The little boy sighed. “You probably can’t fix it now, but—that’s okay.”

Louis shook his head. “No it’s not! My mum’s gonna be so mad.” His eyes started welling up with tears again and he sniffled as inconspicuously as he could.

The little boy with the kind eyes grabbed Louis’ hand and pulled him over to the cubby area. “Don’t cry please,” he pleaded.

“Before you tell me I’m a baby, I’m not, okay!” Louis tried to control his breathing but it came out labored and that made him cry that much harder.

“I wasn’t gonna call you a baby,” the boy whispered. He let go of Louis’ hand and walked over to another section of the cubby area. Before Louis could say anything in response, the boy came back with the  _same_ Superman action figure in his hands.

He took the broken toy out of Louis’ grasp before he could protest, and replaced it with his own. “There,” he said with a sense of finality. “Now you have a proper toy  _and_ your mum won’t get mad.”

Louis sniffled and looked down at the Superman in his hands. It looked pretty much brand new, and it was obviously in better condition than his was. “I can’t take you toy,” he said while looking up at the boy with eyes full of sadness. “It’s— _yours_.”

The boy smiled. “No! Now  _this_ is mine and  _that_ is yours.”

Louis blinked. He then tried to push the toy back in the other boys’ hand.

The boy giggled and refused to accept it. “Mum says you can’t give back presents!”

Louis stopped thrusting the toy in the boy’s hands and looked at him in wonder. “Are you an angel?”

The boy giggled again, this time showing off the dimples he had on both cheeks. (Louis vaguely thought that he’d love to take everything the boy offered him if he only continued to make such a beautiful sound.) “No! I’m Harry,” he said, grinning a toothy grin.

“Oh.” Louis stuck out his hand like he’d seen his mother do when she introduced herself to new people. “I’m Louis.”

“Well, Louis. Enjoy your new toy.”

Louis smiled. “Thank you. You’re very nice. That’s why I thought you were an angel! Cos mummy says that angels do nice things for people.”

Harry furrowed his brow. “Well, I don’t  _think_ I’m an angel,” he said eventually. “I’ve always thought I was just a boy.”

Louis shook his head, as if he were trying to clear his mind. “You’re probably right. I’m always getting things mixed up.”

“That’s okay,” Harry smiled.

Just then, the teacher called everyone to come to the carpet in the middle of the room for story time. When Louis and Harry walked over to the area, a girl with long brown hair began frantically waving at Harry.

“Well I guess I better go,” Harry said a little sadly. “That’s Shelby. She doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

Louis laughed. “Okay. Well, thank you Harry. For being so nice to me.”

Harry grinned toothily, making his dimples pop and his eyes close shut in return. (Louis thought that he looked like a little happy kitty; he was quite adorable.) “Anytime, Louis.” He then turned around to start walking over to Shelby, but before he could get very far, he abruptly turned back around and grabbed Louis’ hands.

“What’s wrong?” Louis asked, concerned.

“Louis, you’ve gotta promise me something,” Harry said urgently.

“Anything,” Louis breathed (whipped from day one).

“Smile, okay? You’ve got such a wonderful smile and your eyes do this thing where they bunch up around the corners and it makes you look very—nice.” Harry blushed and bit his lip.

Louis blushed back. “Okay,” he whispered. “Thanks, Harry.”

Harry beamed and finally took off, waving at Louis as he walked over to Shelby.

And, well. That’s when it all began.

Louis’ crush on Harry didn’t start a couple of  _months_ prior to him hanging out with Harry, no. It started the day they met. It might not have been obvious at the time—or for a couple of  _years_ in actuality—but Louis always knew that the fact that his heart started beating a bit faster every time he saw Harry was because he  _felt_ something that was not completely platonic for the other boy. And he may have spent _ages_  trying to get away from those feelings but eventually, he figured there was no getting around them. And anyway, he  _never_  would have thought that he’d  _ever_  make his feelings known.

Much less have them  _returned._

So while he’s sitting on his bed enjoying the  _best_ kiss he’s  _ever_ experienced in his life (and okay, there aren’t  _that_ many to compare it to, but still) he can’t help but feel like this is all a dream.

Harry puts his large hands on the small of Louis’ back and pulls Louis closer towards him, while simultaneously moving himself closer to Louis. After they’re in a better position, Louis brings his hands up to Harry’s curls and starts tugging lightly, pulling Harry impossibly closer.

Harry mewls into Louis’ mouth and bites down on Louis’ bottom lip. When Louis opens his mouth to moan, Harry’s tongue quickly takes advantage, making its way inside.

It only gets more heated from there. Soon, Harry’s pushing Louis down on the mattress while he positions himself so that he’s hovering over Louis.

Louis scrapes his nails down Harry’s back, scratching him lightly through his thin white shirt. Harry whimpers into Louis’ mouth, squeezing Louis’ biceps while he continues to kiss him dirtily.

After a couple of minutes, they’re both in need of air, so Harry lifts his lips off of Louis’. He continues to hover above him so that their foreheads are touching.

They’re both panting and their hearts are beating at an alarming rate. Harry brings his thumb up to Louis’ cheekbone and he strokes it gently, eyes full of wonder.

And Louis is looking up at him—has been looking up at him since day one because he has  _always_ been smaller than Harry—and he kind of lays back there in awe because they just  _fit._

They’re Harry and Louis and they fit together like two puzzle pieces, as cliché as that is.

“I couldn’t wait any longer,” Louis whispers. His voice comes out wrecked (and Harry’s eyes are immediately filled with lustbecause  _he_  caused Louis to sound like that).

“I’m sorry I lied to you,” Louis continues.

Harry sighs and rolls off of Louis, lying down on the bed next to him instead. He cradles Louis’ face in his palms and plants a solid kiss on his lips. “You never  _really_ lied to me,” he says after clearing his throat. “And to be honest, I’m kind of glad that you didn’t tell me the whole truth. I’m so happy I got to know you, Lou. It’s been a long time coming but I finally got to be your friend and to know how wonderful you are.” He stops and chuckles but he doesn’t fool Louis because Louis can easily see the tears that are welling up in Harry’s eyes.

“Hey, Harry,” Louis says quietly with his brows furrowed. “What’s wrong?”

Harry sniffles and rolls his eyes at himself. “I’m so ridiculous, you know? Wanna hear something funny?”

Louis smiles and swats Harry’s shoulder. “You’re not ridiculous. You’re pretty amazing. And what’s funny?”

Harry smiles and looks Louis straight in the eyes. “The fact that I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with you since we started hanging out.”

Louis’ mouth gapes open. He blinks and tries to make sense of the words that have just tumbled out of Harry’s mouth but he really  _can’t_ comprehend what he has just heard.

(In Louis’ world, people are all the same: they’re either so shallow that Louis has to stay away from them or they’re so wonderful that they never look Louis’ way.

And this boy, this charming, handsome, kind, hilarious, caring, sweet boy, is one of those people that are too  _good_ for Louis.

And because Louis has been living with this—this particular  _perception_  of sorts for all of his life, it’s only natural that he’d think Harry is lying to him.)

Louis laughs bitterly. “Harry. You don’t have to lie to me. I pretty much knew you’d never feel the same way! So don’t be guilty or anything—it’ll take a while but I can probably get over this.”

“What are you  _saying,_ Louis?” Harry asks, bewildered. “Don’t you believe me?”

Louis sits up on his bed and turns to face Harry, who gets up just as quick. “Harry. People like you don’t belong with people like me!”

Harry is shaking his head before Louis can even finish his sentence. “You’re incredible,” he spits out. “Why don’t you see how amazing you are!? I’m the luckiest guy on the earth for being able to spend time with you, Lou!”Harry grabs Louis’ hand and brings Louis’ fingers to his lips. After Harry kisses them softly, Louis finally gets the courage to look into Harry’s eyes.

What he finds there is honesty. And he knows deep inside that as crazy as all of this seems, Harry would never lie to him. Because Harry is a genuine person—a genuinely  _good_ and  _honest_ person.

“I mean it, Louis,” Harry says softly. “I love you. And you just said that you love me too so  _please_ in the name of all that is holy in this world, can you  _please_  just be mine?”

Louis giggles, squeezing Harry’s hand that is still holding his. He looks at their fingers and how they fit together seamlessly. And then, well. That’s when he knows that he and Harry are kind of meant to be.

(Louis is like a puzzle that was missing its single, most vital piece. And Harry, well. Harry is that piece. And when that piece is found, the puzzle is complete. Harry completes Louis. And Louis would have it no other way.)

“Do you remember when we first met, Harry?” Louis asks suddenly.

Harry nods. “In Kindergarten.”

“I asked if you were an angel,” Louis smiles. “And now. I know that you are.”

Harry laughs but it’s watery and filled with more emotion than it lets on.

“You’ve changed me for the better. And you’ve given me a confidence that I’ve always lacked. I could never,  _ever_  repay you.”

Harry tugs Louis towards him and Louis follows Harry’s lead. Louis isn’t really surprised when Harry pulls him onto his lap.

When Louis has settled down and gotten comfy, Harry speaks again. His deep voice is quiet, like it’s trying not to shatter the delicate moment. “There is one way you can repay me, though.”

“And that is?” Louis asks, leaning into Harry’s chest.

Harry brings his arms around Louis’ torso, hugging him close. He then brings his lips to Louis’ ear, kissing behind it gently. “Smile, okay? You’ve got to always smile because you look so absolutely beautiful and it warms my heart  _so much_  to see you happy. And when you’re happy, I’m happy.”

A fat tear rolls down Louis’ cheeks. “Harry, I love you.”

“Louis.” Harry says firmly. “I love you too.”

Louis turns around in Harry’s lap and brings his arms around Harry’s shoulders, hugging him tightly. After a while, he looks up at Harry—whose eyes are shining brightly.

“Can I kiss you?” Louis asks.

“Are you my boyfriend, now?” Harry responds cheekily.

“I can be whatever you want me to be.”

“Oooh, I like that,” Harry winks, chuckling.

Louis looks flabbergasted. “S’cuse me, do you want me to take it back?”

Harry laughs and kisses Louis gently. It’s sweet, the kiss. Louis feels protected in Harry’s arms and he’s so glad that he had the courage to go through with telling Harry. He can’t imagine how he could live another day without Harry’s kiss, Harry’s touch.

When they pull apart and look into each other’s eyes, Louis thinks he’s quite comfortable in Harry’s arms.

Because in the end, well. Harry  _is_  Louis’ home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiiiiiiiii, hope you're okay after that lol. also hope you guys get the little thingy in the middle no other hints about that soz anywaY. 
> 
> OH ALSO i started writing a new fic called 'turn on me' please read it if u like me okay bye forreal


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a long one so. make sure you're sitting. and that you're comfortable.
> 
> tumblr: burberrharry

_Perfection does not exist,_ Louis writes.

_The perfect timing does not exist. The perfect person does not exist. But most of all, the perfect situation does not exist._

_Life sets you up sometimes. It makes you think that some things were just meant to be. And then you get caught up in the situation you’ve been put in. All at once, things seem too good to be true. And you want them to continue to be as they are. But you know in the back of your mind, that all good things have to come to an end. At one point, it’s inevitable that they do._

_It doesn’t stop you from hoping,_ praying _, that this time, it’s different. You still lay there at night and stare up at the cracks in the ceiling and you wish with all your might that you’re saved somehow; that this time, it’s different. This time, you don’t want to be let down._

 _All that you want is for one thing, just this one_ thing _to go perfectly._

_But in the end, this is life; perfection does not exist._

Louis puts down the pen that he has been gripping intensely for the past five minutes. The words he has scratched out in his journal look wrong. Everything is squished together, angry almost. His y’s aren’t curved or loopy like they have been in the past couple of entries because right now, he’s not happy like he was. He’s numb; incapable of feeling emotion because he does not know what to feel.

He thinks he _should_ be happy though, considering the amazing opportunity that he has been given. He looks at the thick envelope sitting on his desk next to his elbow and he can’t help but cringe. Because in that envelope lies his hopes and dreams but at the same time, there lies the opportunity that will surely break his heart into little tiny unfixable pieces.

Louis takes a deep shuddering breath and uncaps his pen, placing it neatly into the jar next to his computer. His room is silent and it’s eerie because his room is never quiet. He can hear the air condition hum and he can hear the pitter-patter of the rain on his roof. _It’s rained quite a lot this year,_ Louis thinks. _Maybe it’s some sort of a sign._

Most of the time, laughter can be heard coming from Louis’ room. It floats out through the cracks underneath the doorframe and the warmth carries down the hall and into Jay’s room. It makes her smile because she knows that her boy and _his_ boy are happy and, well, that makes _her_ very happy.

But the warmth has been missing for a week, and Louis—and in turn, Jay—had been left cold, bones aching. Harry and the rest of the football team had gone away to a competition, and Louis had to be left behind.

It’s been a difficult week without Harry but Louis has managed to cope. They texted throughout the day and every night, Harry would sneak out of his hotel room to talk to Louis, no matter how much Niall made fun of him. (But really, Niall didn’t understand because Shelby was right there with him. He didn’t know how difficult it was for Harry to leave half of his heart at home.)

And today, well. Today’s the day the football team is supposed to be back. In fact, Harry and Anne should be coming over to Louis’ any time now.

But Louis can’t bring himself to smile, because he knows that in time, the light of his life will be taken away from him again.

He sighs and rests his head against his arms on his desk.

And that’s where Harry finds him minutes later.

Harry tiptoes over to Louis as soon as he spots him from the room’s entrance. He carefully avoids the floorboards he knows are creaky and when he’s standing right behind Louis, he reaches down and envelopes him in a tight hug.

“Shit!” Louis squeaks, thrashing his arms about.

Harry cackles and steps back, holding up his hands to surrender. He’s grinning when Louis swivels his chair around, and Louis can’t help but grin back.

“Did you miss me?” Harry asks after a beat, heart pounding. (He doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to the way Louis looks at him.)

“Hell no,” Louis says, swooping his fringe to the side.

Harry pouts. “Well that’s not nice, Lou.”

Louis jumps up from his chair and walks towards Harry with a smirk on his lips until there is absolutely no space between them, and they’re chests are touching. “I missed you _a lot_ though,” he says when their lips are ghosting over each other’s.

“That’s more like it,” Harry whispers, eyes shining with fondness. He quickly closes the little gap between them, and when their lips touch, everything is okay again.

“Lou,” Harry moans on his boyfriend’s lips. “I love you.”

Louis pulls off of Harry’s lip and kisses his jaw. Then, he moves mouth lower until he reaches Harry’s soft neck. He whispers a soft, “I love you too,” while littering the pale expanse of his boyfriend’s skin with love bites.

Harry pulls Louis towards the bed and they both lie down next to each other, fingers intertwined between them.

 "Lou?" Harry whispers after a couple of minutes in silence. "Is everything alright?"

Louis gulps and feels the rush of tears to his eyes. He moves quickly, careful not to untangle his and Harry's fingers, bringing their hands up to rest on Harry's chest below his heart. Then, he moves so that his face hides in the crook of Harry's neck and he kisses there gently.

"Harry, I think I need to tell you something," Louis begins, an air of uncertainty clouding his tone of voice.  
  
"What is it, Lou?" Harry asks. He sounds a bit concerned and Louis--as impossible as it may seem--loves him so much more for that.  
  
Louis sighs. He shifts his head so that he's looking up into Harry's bright green eyes. "At the beginning of the year, I got a letter from the University of Manchester asking me to come in for an interview." He bites his lip and tries to swallow around the thick lump that has started to build in his throat.

"My mum drove me up there and basically, the Dean said that he wanted to grant me extra early acceptance to the school because my grades were really good."

Harry smiles, eyes shining with pride. "Louis that is incredible."

Louis can't help but smile back. But when he realizes that he needs to continue this story, his smile begins to slide off his face until it's not there anymore. "He told me that he wanted me to apply for the New York University study abroad program. Said I'd be good at studying business in America. So I sent off the application thinking that I'd never get in, y'know, because there're probably so many smarter people than me applying?" Louis finally gets the courage to look back up at Harry. And he sees that Harry is frowning down at him.  
  
Louis' voice is barely above a whisper when he continues. "I got a letter a couple of nights ago saying that I got a full scholarship to study in NYU." He bites his lip again, trying to stop the sob that's threatening to escape from his lips.  
  
"Harry," he continues, looking down at his jeans. "The only way I can go to school is if I take that scholarship. I didn't get a full ride to any other school and my mum and I, we. We really can't afford paying four years’ worth of tuition." Louis brings a hand up to cover his face and suddenly, he's nauseous when he realizes that Harry hasn't said anything since the big reveal.  
  
"Harry?" Louis says, afraid to look up. "What do I do?"  
  
He hears sniffles coming from above him and finally looks up to see Harry, crying soundlessly while staring up at the ceiling.  
  
Louis moves quickly until he's hovering over Harry's face. He wipes at some of the stray tears on Harry's cheeks and kisses under each one of Harry's eyes, following by pecking Harry's lips. "I love you so much, Harry," he says, voice breaking. And it's then that he knows, Louis knows all too well, that he's broken not only his own heart, but he's also broken the heart of the boy who means the most to him.

He supposes that the frown on his face must give something away because soon after, Harry is chuckling. It sounds wrong though; there is no light in Harry’s eyes, no humor in his laugh.

“Lou,” Harry says after rubbing furiously at his own eyes. “I’m really proud of you, y’know? You’ve been working towards something like this for all of your life! It’s like you’re _destined_ for greatness, I don’t know, I can’t really explain it, but. You can’t let this go now!”

 Louis bites his lip. “So you’re telling me that I should go?”

Harry takes in a deep breath and pokes at the corner of his eyes with his index finger. “I’m telling you that you need to do whatever you feel is right. I can’t force you to go, just like I can’t force you to stay. But Lou, I’m gonna tell you this much; if you don’t take this opportunity, you might regret it. Things like this don’t happen twice!”

Louis mulls Harry’s words over in his head. He looks down at their fingers and smiles at how _perfect_ they look together, intertwined.

“What about you, Harry?” Louis asks after a couple of moments in silence. “Where are you planning on going to school?” His voice sounds calm and it’s odd, but the panic he was once feeling has kind of settled. His heart is beating steadily now that he knows he has Harry’s blessing, and his breathing has become less laborious. But still, it doesn’t mean that he’s okay. He still feels nauseous and apart from that, he doesn’t really know if he’ll ever feel _whole_ again. Louis still hasn’t made up his mind yet; though at this point, he knows that his heart is aching because he has _just_ gotten Harry and now, he’s already losing him.

He knows that life isn’t fair but the fact that love isn’t fair either causes a piece of his heart to break off and fall into a pit of cold despair.  

Harry clears his throat before speaking. “Well I’m going to Manchester Uni too,” he says, smiling lightly. “But I guess that doesn’t really matter in the long run, does it?”

Louis laughs but it sounds wrong, almost twisted. He can’t think of Harry’s words any longer because he knows that at this point, it will only kill him to think any further about the situation at hand.

So he does what he knows best: he changes the subject at hand.

“I can’t believe graduation is a couple of nights away,” he sighs. “I feel old.”

Harry throws his head back and laughs unabashedly (and it hurts Louis because _this_ is what he fell in love with, all those years ago). “You’re barely eighteen, weirdo.”

“Still,” Louis grumbles, shoving Harry gently.

“Heeeey!” Harry protests. “Why are you so _rude_ to me!?”

Louis cackles and begins tickling Harry’s sides. He doesn’t listen to Harry’s protests, doesn’t think anything at all…

Except for the fact that he should savor the sound of Harry’s laugh because, who knows? This may be one of his last chances to hear it.

***

Louis loves his mum, he really does. After Harry leaves, he sits down with her and tells her every last detail about the scholarship he received. Then, they move on to discussing Louis’ options.

“I don’t want you to rush into things Lou,” Jay says softly while running her hands through her son’s hair. “Just think about the pros and cons that come along with each of your option.”

Louis sits there thinking for quite some time. He does realize, at one point, that all of his life, he’s worked hard in order to get the best education he could. Because all his life, he’s thought that he’s only good at one thing, and that thing is learning and working. It’s weird because no boy his age could possibly fathom the desire to _work_ all the time, but Louis just _really_ wants to make something of himself the only way he knows how to: he wants to get a good education and then, he wants to get an amazing job.

And, well, now he’s kind of being handed all that he has ever wanted. It should be an easy decision, really.

But there’s Harry to consider.

Harry makes him laugh and cry and Harry makes Louis feel desired and important and happy. Louis doesn’t really know if he will ever get something this strong and wonderful ever again in his life. He doesn’t know if he will ever fall in love with someone who is not Harry. Heck, he doesn’t even know if that’s possible.

“Mum,” Louis says, brows furrowed. “Can I ask you something?”

Jay nods and looks away from the TV she’s been watching. “Anything, love.”

“Okay, well. This may seem a bit strange but I need you to be honest with me. Do you—“ Louis hesitates. “Do you think that love only comes once?”

Jay huffs out a sigh and crosses her arms on her chest. She looks at Louis—really looks—with knitted eyebrows. “Not at all,” she finally says, looking earnest and honest. “I think that for some people, love is something that, well, _happens_ once. They go out one day and come across the person they’re meant to be with for the rest of their lives. And for them, well. I suppose it was all meant to just _happen_ like that.”

Louis nods, bringing his things flush to his chest. He places his chin on his knees and after wrapping his arms around his legs, he continues to look up at his mother attentively.

“But for others, Lou,” Jay continues, picking up her teacup and taking a sip of the tea she’s been drinking. “For others, love comes many times. It may not be true love every time but it _is_ love. One day though,” Jay smiles fondly, looking off into the distance. “One day, I think everyone manages to find their true love. Their soul mate, I guess.”

“Mum,” Louis says. “Do you think young love is stupid?”

Jay rolls her eyes. “There isn’t any kind of love that is stupid, darling. And I think every love is real.”

“What about Harry and—“

Jay shakes her head and chuckles humorlessly. “I knew where this would be going, Lou. And I can’t tell you anything about your relationship with Harry. I obviously don’t know how you feel when you’re together but judging by the looks on your faces and how wonderfully you work together, I know your relationship is kind of magical.”

Louis frowns when he feels a pang of sadness in his chest.

“How _ever_ , Louis,” Jay says, raising her eyebrows. “I do think that everything happens for a reason. And you getting this scholarship _means_ something. I don’t know what, but I do know that you need to think about this _beyond_ Harry and even beyond _me,_ in fact. This is your _dream_ and it can change your entire future. I don’t think you should take this lightly.”

“Mum, I’m not taking this lightly!” Louis exclaims. “That’s _why_ I’m so conflicted! Because I _know_ this will undoubtedly change my life but Harry will too! Being with him sure as hell feels like true love! And I may be young but you said so yourself that any kind of love is real love!” Louis bites his lip. “If I leave Harry, how am I sure that I’ve made the right decision?”

Jay sighs again, placing a hand on Louis’. “You’ll never know that, hun. Because things can play out a million different ways cos there are a million different paths you can take. And in all honesty, you can only experience _one_ of those paths. You won’t know if you could’ve ever had better or if you could’ve had worse but in the end, I think everyone finds happiness. And I’m a firm believer in the fact that love and happiness are tied.”

Louis mulls over his mother’s words. It’s a lot to take in at once.

“Babe,” Jay coos, patting Louis’ cheek. “I also really think that if your love is meant to be, it’ll all work out in the end. If you and Harry were meant to be, you’ll find your way back to each other.”

Louis smiles, “I love you mum.”

“Love you too, Lou. Don’t you ever forget that okay? I’ll always be right here with you—even if you have to reach me by phone.” Jay opens her arms and Louis leaps into them.

Suddenly, he feels like he’s a little boy again. Call him a mama’s boy but really, Louis knows that everything will be okay if he’s got his mother by his side.

“I think I should go do some thinking,” Louis laughs as he gets up. He sees his mum turn her head to wipe suspiciously at her eyes but he just rolls his own eyes at her—fondly, of course.

“I’m here if you need me,” Jay smiles.

When Louis gets to his room, he grabs his iPhone and headphones and collapses onto the bed. Taking a deep breath, he shoves the ear buds into his ear and presses play on Pandora.

He breathes out a sigh of relief when he hears the familiar voice of Marcus Mumford in his ears. He adores Mumford & Sons not only because they make such wonderful music, but because their lyrics make him _think._ Maybe this will relieve his mind of some stress for a while.

He’s not even gotten through half of the song by the time he has to curl up in fetal position. Louis is stuck in a trance; he’s stuck in this beautiful song and for the first time in days, he feels some sense of hope.

Evidently, it’s “After the Storm”by Mumford & Sons that helps Louis come to a conclusion. Because when he hears the chorus, it’s like everything is clear to him.

 _“And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears._  
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.  
Get over your hill and see what you find there,  
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.”

Suddenly, it’s like someone has kicked Louis so hard that the wind has been knocked out of him.

Throughout the whole of Louis’ eighteen years, music has gotten him through _so much._ And today, it has helped him come to a very big conclusion.

If loving Harry has taught Louis anything, it’s that there’s no point in living in fear. When he took a chance and told Harry how he felt, he wasn’t all that scared because in some part of his mind, he knew that if things were supposed to work out, they would.

And that’s exactly how it is right now. Why should he be scared of taking a chance and going to America? If his dreams are meant to come true, they will. But like his mum said, he’ll never know what could have happened if he doesn’t give this--give his dreams—a shot.

He doesn’t want to spend his life thinking, _what if._ He wants to _do._ He wants to look back twenty years from now and smile at the decision he made; he doesn’t want to live with any regrets.

In the back of his mind, he knows that if things with Harry are meant to work out, they will. So now, he’s going to call Liam and Zayn over after he writes an email to the admissions office of Manchester University. In that email, he’s going to say that he accepts their offer and is ecstatic to be studying business in New York City in the fall.

He runs downstairs to tell his mum because really, she deserves to know first. Her eyes well up with tears and as she hugs him, she makes sure to tell him how _proud_ of him she is.

Every time Louis’ heart beats though, he’s overwhelmed with the weight of how inevitably difficult it will be to tell Harry about his decision.

***

Breaking the news to Liam and Zayn is quite easy, to be honest.

They hug him and kiss his hair and they tell him that they’d known from the start that he was destined for success.

“But I haven’t even _done_ anything yet,” Louis smirks, rolling his eyes.

“Ah, but you will,” Zayn declares.

“We have firm faith in you, Lou,” Liam follows, eyes crinkling.

Louis snorts.

“Does the BF know yet?” Zayn asks hesitantly.

Every trace of a smile is suddenly wiped from Louis’ face.

“I’ll take that as a no,” Zayn mumbles while at the same time, Liam says, “Promise you won’t forget us when you conquer Wall Street?”

Louis shakes his head and gets Liam in a chokehold before he gives him a noogie. “I wouldn’t be able to forget you arseholes even if I tried.”

Zayn laughs. “We’ll be haunting you in your every dream, so either way…”

Louis pushes Liam into Zayn and smiles fondly at his two idiots. “I’ll miss you boys.”

“Don’t forget we love you, yeah?” Zayn says, smiling an earnest smile.

“We’d cross the ocean for you,” Liam adds. Then, “Yeah you better invite us over.”

Zayn hums in agreement. “Always wanted to see New York City.”

“Hey,” Louis scoffs in protest. “What about me?”

“What _about_ you?” Zayn cackles, eyes bright and mischievous.

Louis pouts. “Don’t you want to visit _me_?”

“Erm—mhm, yeah, ‘course we do!” Liam winks.

Louis flicks his ear. “How very _dare_ you.”

And basically, that’s that.

***

Telling Niall and Shelby proves to be just a _little_ more difficult.

“You _twat,”_ Shelby shrieks, swatting Louis’ arm. “How could you _do_ this to me?”

Niall rolls his eyes fondly. “Ignore her, Lou. Anyway, I think this is bloody brilliant! You’ll be amazing at whatever you chose to do! I’m sure of it.”

“Thanks mate,” Louis smiles. Niall’s a sweetheart, really. Louis is going to _definitely_ miss his happy-go-lucky attitude.

“Um, hell- _o_!” Shelby cries. “Why are you telling me this _now_ Lewis!? And after all we’ve been through? Couldn’t you be decent enough to let me know that you’ve applied to an _overseas_ program!?”

“Shelby, ohmygod, calm down,” Louis mutters.

“Calm down!?” Shelby yells. “How am I supposed to _calm down_ when my best friend is _leaving me_ to go to New York fucking City!?”

Louis frowns and his heart sinks. He feels tears well up in his eyes and he turns around from his friends so they won’t see his state.

But Shelby still manages to feel his emotions _with_ him, like always. Because all of a sudden, a small spider monkey of sorts is clinging onto Louis’ body and said monkey smells like watermelon and _home._ And yes, in that moment Louis does know that Shelby is and always will be one of his _best_ friends because someone who can almost telepathically feel the same emotions as you must _mean_ something to you in the long-run, right? But of course, surely.

“I love you, Lou,” Shelby whispers into Louis’ chest. “I’m gonna miss you _so_ much, but promise that you’ll keep in touch?”

Louis can hear the emotion in his friend’s voice and when he speaks, he can’t stop the emotion in his own from escaping. “I love you too, Shell-belle. And I’ll always keep in touch, no matter where I am, yeah? Just don’t you go forgetting _me_ okay?”

Shelby laughs a watery laugh. “I’m so glad I emceed your stupid Sports Awards.”

Louis stills suddenly. Because in a way, that day was the day that had tilted his whole world on its axis.

Not only had he met Shelby on the night of the Awards, but he had met Niall. _And_ that was the day that—in reality—started his whole relationship with Harry.

“Oh Lou,” Shelby says suddenly distressed, pulling away with her eyes wide. “You haven’t told Harry yet, have you?”

Louis’ shakes his head and wipes at his eyes. “He knows that I got accepted into the program but he doesn’t know I’ve decided to go yet.”

Niall swings one arm over Louis’ shoulder and puts the other one around Shelby’s waist. “It’s alright, mate. He loves you enough to be supportive.”

Shelby nods fervently. “Of course, Lou. Don’t think he’s going to hate you for this because he’s not.”

Louis sighs. “I know that. But still. There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to tell him because when I do, this all becomes _real._ Like I can’t really explain it, but. Harry’s everything to me, yeah? When it’s over with him, then I kind of don’t have anything left.”

Niall shakes his head. “Harry will always be your friend Lou. You’ve helped him become a stronger person. He isn’t gonna just let you leave his life for good, you hear?”

“You’ll at least stay friends,” Shelby says gently. “Don’t write Harry off like that so quickly, okay?”

Louis bites his lip. “Okay, I guess I shouldn’t.” His phone starts vibrating then, so he pulls it out and sees that it’s Harry calling. “Speak of the devil,” he smiles.

“Lou!” Harry greets him from the other end. “How’re you doing, babe?”

Louis can’t help himself from smiling warmly. “I’m okay Hazza, what about you?”

“Good,” Harry replies instantly, and Louis can _feel_ the smile in his voice. “I actually wanted to ask you something?”

“Shoot,” Louis says. Shelby and Niall are looking at him with knowing smiles and he fleetingly thinks that the two of them are going to be together forever.

“Well, the carnival is in town, yeah?” Harry begins. “I was wondering if you wanted to go with me tonight? We could see _Casablanca_ in a drive-in if you’re up for it.”

Louis draws circles in the grass with the tips of his VANS. He feels like a little girl in primary school with a crush but that doesn’t stop him. “I’d like that, Harry.”

Harry breathes out, sounding relieved. “Good. I’ll pick you up at like, 8?”

“Sounds perfect.”

Harry clears his throat. “I love you, Lou.”

Louis feels his own throat clench with sudden emotion. “I love you too, Haz.”

***

Louis gets Harry’s text at 8:01 PM that night.

_Harry: Hurry up!!!!!!!!!!! I’m outside!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .xxxx_

Louis grins and grabs a windbreaker just in case it gets chilly. He’s calling out a goodbye to his mum and running out the door before even a minute has passed since Harry texted him.

“Someone’s eager,” Harry smirks when Louis rushes into his car and slams the door shut behind him.

Instead of responding, Louis practically pounces on Harry, kissing him chastely and deeply on the mouth.

“Hi,” he says finally, pulling his lips off of Harry’s and touching their foreheads together instead.

“Well _hell-_ oooo,” Harry says breathlessly.

Louis giggles and pulls away, buckling his seatbelt. “The night is young, Harold. Drive!”

“As you wish, sir,” Harry says in an overly-posh accent while he salutes Louis like a sailor.

The carnival is only a couple of minutes outside of town, and it’s pretty crowded when Harry and Louis arrive.

“Good thing we’re not looking for parking in this mess,” Harry mumbles.

Louis hums in agreement. “When does the movie start?”

Harry pulls up to the giant screen. Right when he takes the keys out of the ignition, the film playing out on the screen. “I’m guessing now,” he chuckles.

“Should we roll down the windows?” Louis asks.

“Umm, do you wanna go outside instead? We could sit on the hood?”

Louis smiles, “‘C’mon, then.”

Harry pulls out two blankets from the back. When they get out of the car, he spreads one out over the hood of the car. Then, when he and Louis finally sit on it, he unravels the second one and throws it on top of them.

“Don’t think I don’t understand your game plan, Styles.” Louis smirks. “I know you did all of this so that you could snuggle up to me.”

“You’re right,” Harry sighs. “Jig’s up. I guess we don’t need this then,” he tries not to smile while he pulls the blanket off of Louis.

“I didn’t mean that I didn’t _want_ to cuddle with you,” Louis pouts.

Harry laughs and throws an arm around Louis, pulling him into his side. Louis slides his own arm around Harry’s waist and he gets this _feeling_ when he realizes that they fit together perfectly. However, he doesn’t think about it much because he knows that it will only end up causing him pain.

They hold hands above the blanket throughout the movie. To an outsider who laid his eyes upon the two young boys, they would come across as being in the perfect relationship. But in reality, there’s something like a cloud of despair above them, for both boys have words that need to be shared.

When the movie is almost over, Louis can’t take it anymore. “Harry we need to talk,” he says gently. He looks up at his boyfriend and sees him tense; but he also can’t help but notice the vacant expression in Harry’s eyes. He knows that Harry hasn’t been watching the film either.

Harry bites his lip. “What’s up, Lou?” he asks tentatively, even though he knows what the conversation will be about.

“It’s—it’s about uni,” Louis begins. “I’ve made my—decision.”

Harry nods and finally looks at Louis. He looks tired.

“I—I think I’m going to go to America this fall,” Louis says quietly. It’s almost a whisper and Harry is sure he would’ve missed Louis’ words had he not been reading his lips.

Harry takes in a deep breath. He pulls Louis into a hug that’s made awkward by their positioning. “I’m so happy for you, babe.”

Louis feels his eyes sting with tears and really, he can’t help it. “Harry, please don’t think I’m choosing _this_ over us. I love you so much that I literally _don’t know_ what to do with myself.”

Harry is shaking against Louis’ body. He sniffles, and then, “I know, love. I love you too and I’m _happy_ for you and I’m actually glad that you’ve made this decision.”

Louis gulps and pulls away. “Really?” He asks cautiously, looking into Harry’s shining eyes.

“Really,” Harry agrees. “I want what’s best for you and I think that going to school in America is the best thing for you to do.”

“Where does this leave us, though?” Louis wonders aloud, clutching Harry’s hand desperately.

“Well,” Harry starts. “What would you like to do?”

Louis looks at his boyfriend and lightly shakes his head. “This isn’t all about _me_ y’know. You’re in this relationship as much as I am. What would _you_ like to do?”

Harry purses his lip. “If I’m being honest? I’d quite like to be your boyfriend until the day you leave.” He shrugs sheepishly.

“I’d like that too,” Louis smiles slightly. “But only if you’re sure.”

Harry snorts. “’Course I’m sure. I think it’s the best way, y’know. For—for closure or whatever later on. To say that _hey. At least we tried._ Y’know?”

Louis smiles. “I know. I want to live my life with good memories of you and like, of us.”

Harry looks down at their intertwined hands. “Hey Lou?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you—do you think we can stay friends when you move?”

Louis gulps. “I think I’d like that quite a lot, Harry.”

Harry smiles at him, eyes wet with tears. “Good. I can’t seem to fathom losing you all at once.”

“You’ll never lose me,” Louis says, voice cracking. He knocks their shoulders together in attempt to lighten the mood.

Harry sighs and drapes an arm around Louis’ shoulder, and Louis melts into his boyfriend’s side.

When the closing credits begin to roll on the screen, Louis whispers into Harry’s ear, “We’ll be okay, right Harry?”

Harry nods with a certainty, determination set in his eyes.  “We’ll be perfect.”

***

Things seem to happen fairly quickly after Harry and Louis’ movie date.

Louis gets an email from the admissions office at Manchester University saying that they’ve confirmed his position at NYU. They also advise him to get ticket to New York as soon as possible.

So, Louis dives into his savings account and purchases one one-way ticket with Harry by his side. Then, Anne and Jay take Louis shopping for new clothes and such; Harry is still by his side.

Graduation is a hectic affair. Harry has got cousins flying in from all over the country, and. Well. Louis doesn’t really have anyone coming apart from his mum and Liam and Zayn.

Anne and Jay had decided to throw their babies a joint graduation party. So even on that day, Harry and Louis were able to stand by each others’ side as well.

 After graduation, well, it’s summer. And Louis has to leave in the beginning of August so he can get to New York early enough to set up his dorm room _and_ “discover” the city. So in actuality, it’s actually like he only has June and July to split between his mum and Harry and Shelby and Niall and Liam and Zayn.

It’s pretty crazy, just like he expected it to be.

He spends every day with his mum, learning little life-lessons and tricks, like how to find the cheapest and healthiest food in the supermarkets. And every day, he spends an hour convincing his mum that _yes,_ he’ll be okay on his own and that _yes,_ he’s a big boy now.

Then, his mum spends at least an hour convincing him that he’s made the right decision, choosing to study in New York.

It’s a mess. He spends every afternoon with Shelby at the ice cream parlor where she works, and Niall is there too, obviously. Then, he manages to spend the rest of his day with Harry and Liam and Zayn at Zayn’s dad’s garage.

They goof off and talk and just _enjoy_ each other’s company because _who knows_ how long it will be until they’re all together again? Harry has taken to Liam and Zayn really well and Louis’ oldest friends promise him that they will look out for his newest one.

(In return, though, Harry promises that he’ll look out for Ziam too.)

Then, at night, either Harry comes over to Louis’ house for bed or Louis goes to Harry’s house. Their mums are okay with it if they each know where their sons are at all times. (And they’ve made Harry and Louis promise to be _safe_ and _for god’s sake boys, don’t be_ too _loud, okay?)_

They make love to each other every night (and sometimes in the morning too) because the end is near and, to be frank, this may never happen again.

It’s perfect, Louis thinks. His last two months at home are absolutely perfect and he’s _so_ happy.

So when the day of his departure arrives, Louis lets Harry pin him down on the bed and make love to him one last time. Harry leaves bruises on Louis’ skin as a reminder of what they have—what they _had?_ —and Louis wishes that he could permanently ink them into his body because. Because Harry will always be a part of him, no matter what happens.

Before Harry and Louis leave Louis’ room that morning, Louis takes a look around his almost-empty bedroom. His favorite pictures and books and posters and clothes and things have been removed and have been neatly packed away into his eight suitcases. He really can’t believe this is happening.

His body is almost numb with excitement and fear and all Louis can feel is Harry’s hand, squeezing his. He looks up at his boyfriend—at his _Harry_ —with utter bewilderment in his eyes.

Harry smiles and it’s genuine and Louis really loves this boy for being _strong_ for him and for being so inexplicably _good_ to him.

“Harry, I’ll always love you, y’know,” Louis says through tears. There have been too many tears these past couple of weeks but every single one that falls from Louis’ eyes is genuine, filled with emotion and a piece of his heart. “You’ve taught me so much and I could never repay you.”

Harry presses his lips onto Louis’ one last time. The kiss is bittersweet as it’s filled with love yet it carries an undertone of sadness. “I love you too, Lou,” Harry says breathlessly against Louis’ lips. “I’ll always be here for you.”

“Same, Harry,” Louis says, tears clouding his vision. Then, he takes a deep breath. “I suppose we should go. Mum’ll be mad if I miss my flight as she’s been so eager to kick me out.”

Harry laughs a watery laugh and shoves Louis playfully. “Tosser. No one wants you gone.”

Louis smiles and shrugs. “Let’s go, Hazza.”

Harry helps Louis put all the suitcases into the trunk of the car while Jay and Anne quietly talk; and when they’re done, Louis runs inside to use the toilet and double check that he’s got everything.

Jay pulls Harry into a hug as soon as Louis disappears into the house. “Thank you so much for everything, Harry.”

Harry smiles. “It’s been a pleasure.”

Jay shakes her head. “He’s really lucky to have had you.”

Harry bites his lip, looking at the Tomlinson house. “No. _I’m_ lucky to have had _him_.”

Before anything can be said in return, Louis comes back out with a small smile on his face. “Looks like we’ve got everything.”

“We should get going,” Jay says, putting on her sunglasses. She gives Harry and Anne both a quick hug each.

Louis nods and hugs Anne, who gives him a quick peck on the cheek. “We’ll see you soon, yeah love? Good luck in the big U S of A!”

Louis smiles at her and whispers a quick _thank you, Anne,_ in her ear. When he pulls away from her, before she slips on her sunglasses, he sees that her eyes are suspiciously wet and Louis _really_ does not feel okay.

He turns to Harry next. Harry with his stupid big eyes that are always genuine and his stupid curly hair that always tickles Louis’ face when they kiss and his stupid manic laugh and his stupid dimples and. Louis still loves him a lot and he doesn’t know why he’s leaving the love of his life behind, to be honest.

Harry gives Louis a long hug, squeezing him tightly. They’re both silently crying because this _isn’t_ supposed to happen to them. They were supposed to be part of the small percentage of people who find the love of their life in high school, but. Apparently life is shit enough to rip them apart only a short while after they’ve gotten together.

“No regrets,” Harry whispers in Louis’ ear. “I’m always here for you.”

Louis takes a long shuddering breath, pulling away from Harry with his eyes still wet. “Back atchya, Superman.”

Harry’s eyes light up with shock. “Do you really—“

“I’d never forget that,” Louis chuckles.

“I’ll never forget you,” Harry smiles.

(Both boys don’t notice that their mothers are both crying softly behind their sunglasses at the exchange taking place before them.)

Louis smiles at Harry one last time and takes in the sight of him, of his first love.

He waves at Harry and Anne once and then, he and his mum are on their way.

The car ride is silent, much like the process of Louis checking in his bags.

Then, when they finally get to the area for international flyers and Jay’s not allowed any further into the airport, they both break.

Louis hugs his mum tightly and he’s still unsure of all of this, unable to comprehend that this is _actually_ happening.

“I love you Louis,” Jay says between sniffles. “You’ll always be my home, no matter where you are. And I’m here for you anytime you need me, alright? Just give me a call. The time of day or night doesn’t matter.”

Louis nods, unable to say anything else. “I love you too, mum. Take care of yourself.” He kisses each one of his mum’s cheeks and then, Louis’ off.

After security, Louis puts in his headphones and waits for his row to be called from the little waiting area.

When he’s allowed to board, he does so quickly, afraid that if he’s given an extra second to think, he might run back out to his mum.

He’s sitting on the plane when he pulls out his phone to read the messages that have been sent to him over the past few hours.

_Liam (9:01): Good luk m8. Always here for u if u ned anythingggg!!! Xxxxxxxxxx_

_Zayn (10:02): Missin u already, mate ! Have fun in NYC but don’t forget us little people aha :) x_

_Niall (10:30): Lewis ! Good ta know ya mate ! Hope to talk to ya real soon over skype ! Good luck !_

_Shelby (10:45): Ugh Louis I love you and I miss you wow and you’re not even properly gone wow anyway okay call me as soon as you can babe, calling cards aren’t too expensive!! Good luck ilysm <3_

_Harry (10:50): Don’t think twice it’s alright._

And that’s it right there. Harry’s text—his perfectly-timed Bob Dylan quoting--makes all the doubt in Louis’ mind fly out the window. Because if a boy as intelligent as Harry says everything will be okay, then it will. It most definitely will.

But even so, when the plane lurches forward to take off, Louis can’t help but feel empty.

Because sure, he’s got all the things that he needs. But he has, undoubtedly, left the thing he needs most back at home.

His heart. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow so. i made a playlist for this fic: http://8tracks.com/inmyrosegarden/you-ll-never-know


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is the overachiever who’s too shy to approach the boy he likes. Harry is the popular athlete who tries to help him get the attention of said boy. Little does Harry know that he’s the one Louis is crushing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> before I say anything else, I just want to apologize for being a shit and updating this so late. I have legit excuses but they don’t even matter now haha
> 
> okay so wow basically when i started writing this—in november i think—i was going through an especially tough time. writing this story was literally the only thing that i looked forward to. every day i’d look at the notes/hits on the first couple of chapters and think, wow. people are ~actually~ reading something that i’ve written. that made me so so incredibly happy, to know that i’ve created something that other people like. i never claimed—or ever will claim—to be a fantastic writer bc i’m really not. writing is just one of the things that i love with a passion.
> 
> so yeah. this whole fic in its entirety is for shelby, who has been the best friend /anyone/ could ever ask for. i love her more than anything and seriously hope that we stay friends forever. (here i’d also like to thank twitter + sabrina for introducing us lol.) it all started with a text from her that said, “i want an au with shy!louis and sporty!harry omg.” 
> 
> i’d also like to thank every single person who has taken the time read this story. your feedback and kudos and notes have saved me from turning into a zombie, not even kidding lol. i’ve tried my best for you guys and i hope i didn’t disappoint , so. yeah. anyways, enough with the rambling. ENJOY THE LAST CHAPTER GUYS ILYSM THANKYOUUUUUUUUUU STAY TUNED FOR MORE FICTIONAL WORKS!!!!!!!!
> 
> ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

 

★゜・。。・゜☆゜・。★。・゜☆ ゜・。。・゜★ ゜・。。。・゜☆ ゜・。★ 。・゜☆ ゜・。。・゜★

 

_Five years later_

★゜・。。・゜☆゜・。★。・゜☆ ゜・。。・゜★ ゜・。。。・゜☆ ゜・。★ 。・゜☆ ゜・。。・゜★

“Ryan,” Louis moans, turning over so that he’s now lying on his stomach. Burying his face in the pillow, he mumbles, “Turn it off.” His words are muffled though, incomprehensible; absorbed by the feathers inside the pillow.

“What?” Ryan croaks.

Louis sighs deeply—which is quite hard, considering his face is buried in a _pillow_ \--and points in the direction of his bed-side table, in particular at the area which he hopes still holds his phone. He had put it on charge last night but—well. Things had gotten a little _intense_ to say the least. Who knows where it ended up.

Louis feels the bed dip next to him when Ryan shifts closer, trying to reach the side table. Ryan drops himself onto Louis’ half-bare back and then grabs the phone and turns off the alarm. “Jesus,” Ryan breathes, and Louis can feel Ryan words press into his skin, as Ryan’s throat is resting somewhere at the bottom of Louis’ spine. “I’m fucking exhausted,” Ryan croaks, unmoving.

“Yeah, well. I’m exhausted _and_ sore,” Louis grumbles into the pillow.

Ryan laughs and slaps Louis’ bum. “Now get out of bed you fucker. Time for you to go make some moolah!”

“Can’t I call in sick or something?” Louis asks, turning his head so he can finally breathe properly. He can see Ryan’s legs but the man’s upper body is completely hidden, still resting somewhere on top of Louis’ body.

“No you can _not,”_ Ryan scolds. “You’ve got that super-duper important meeting today or something.”

“Shit,” Louis squeaks, body tensing. “Fuck! Get off me Ryan, I’ve gotta go!”

Ryan snorts and does as he’s told (for once). “Whatever you say, boobear.”

Louis rolls his eyes while simultaneously rolling off the bed. He scurries off to the bathroom in the direction of the shower but not without wincing every time his feet hit the ground.

Ryan laughs and calls after Louis, “Don’t forget to pick up the kids after work, darling! And we’ve got to get the groceries! And—“

“Shut up, you twat!” Louis screams once he’s in the shower. He rolls his eyes again, but—fondly. He wouldn’t have his mornings any other way.

(Maybe.)

***

“So as you all know,” Mr. Branwell continues as he shuffles some papers. He’s sitting at the head of the long glass table, right underneath the projector screen that has been showing the main ideas of the whole meeting up until now. As Mr. Branwell rises swiftly from his comfy-looking leather chair, the screen above him changes immediately to show—some more _notes_.

Louis raises his eyebrows, interest finally piquing in him when he sees his colleagues—all twenty-five of them who serve on the Board with him—collectively straighten up and clear their throats. It has been a long meeting for _everyone—_ yes, two and a half hours are especially _long_ for business meetings—and now, finally, the moment of truth has finally come.

“As you all know,” Mr. Branwell repeats. “J&J’s international business summit is coming up next week.” The room gets even quieter. Papers have stopped being shuffled and coffee has stopped being sipped; the tension in the room is now thick. Louis can feel it constraining the breaths he miraculously continues to take.

“Well,” Branwell says, cocking his head to the side and licking his lips. “Who would like to go?”

No one makes a move. In fact, Louis is quite certain that he sees Ian, the lad whose office is down the hall from his, stop breathing completely. Louis himself has only been through this “process” once. He has, after all, only been working for J&J for two years.

And what two years they have been. Louis has never felt stressed, depressed, anxious, content, nervous, ill, and ecstatic all at once before. But ever since he was hired at J&J, he had been getting used to the frequent feeling of those emotions all at once. He also learned that, no matter how many grueling hours of his life he had to spend in his office, it all paid off. He was able to make numerous new friends as well as learning something interesting and new every day during his time at J&J. And the emotional chaos definitely paid off every time he received his paycheck every two weeks.

Louis bites his lip and tries his hardest not to let a grin break out on his face. It’s odd but sometimes, Louis has these moments where he just starts to think about work and—BAM! All of a sudden he realizes that _this is his life._ He has made a name for himself; he is now known as one of the most successful accountants in the world. And to think—it only took him two years to get to the “top” as some would call it. The thought enthralls him, leaves him breathless and starry-eyed every time he thinks of _where he is working_ and _who he is working with_ and moreover, _who he is working for._ He’s a part of the biggest international accounting firm and—he’s just really _grateful_ for all the opportunities he has been given.

He thinks back to himself in high school, just five years ago and—

No.

_Stop._

Louis takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a second. _Meetings are not the place to go down memory lane,_ he tells himself. He tunes back in to the situation at hand and sees Branwell smirking at everyone that is seated at the table. He wants to roll his eyes at his boss; the man _lives_ to make things awkward, so it doesn’t surprise him that the silence has been going on for a couple of minutes before Branwell cracks.

“Fine,” he snaps. “I knew this was going to happen. It’s why I’ve already picked three people to go.”

It’s almost as though the tension in the room gets thicker. Nobody dares move a muscle.

“First,” Branwell says as he begins to slowly walk around the table, arms folded across his chest while he stares at his employees. No one makes eye contact with him, however.

“Ron Schmucker,” Branwell declares coolly.

Ron--a tall blonde who could pass for a Ford Model--gasps audibly, cheeks turning a rosy pink. “Me?”

Branwell ignores his comment entirely. “Next I’ve chosen Lucy Fields.”

A petite brunette with bright eyes smiles instantly and nods her head once. She’s breathtakingly beautiful—reminds him of Shelby almost--and Louis fleetingly wonders why he’s never noticed her before.

“And finally,” Branwell sighs, coming to a pause back at his seat after he’s circled the entire table once. “You will be under the supervision of Louis Tomlinson.”

Louis’ eyebrows shoot up, eyes bulging out of his sockets. He clears his throat and nods firmly. “Yes sir.”

Branwell smiles. “Good. Well, I figure I owe you all an explanation of some sort. But basically the summit will be in London this year and,” Branwell’s smile turns into a full on grin as he pauses. “You three are the most _charming_ of our New York branch. Wouldn’t you say?” Branwell turns his head to his secretary who nods instantaneously, beaming. Her eyes are almost too eager to please and normally he would internally chuckle at her frazzled appearance, but. Louis can’t bear to spare her another thought.

He’s just realized that the summit is in _London_.

As in, the capital of the _United Kingdom?_ Where he hasn’t been for five years for a _reason?_

Louis’ heart beats rapidly in his chest and his stomach drops. He tries to keep a calm expression on his face, to not _show_ how alarmed he really is because he’s in a _room full of people_ for crying out loud. He can’t have an _anxiety attack_ in front of his colleagues.

Louis breathes deeply through his nose, over and over again, watching Branwell speak but not comprehending a word out of his mouth. As soon as everyone started getting up, Louis did the same, collecting his things and quickly shuffling out the door before anyone could stop him.

He luckily got to the elevator first and as soon as he stepped in, he started _praying_ for no one to stop it before it could reach his floor.

Thankfully, Louis’ prayers are answered as he is able to walk into his office without a single confrontation.

When he closes the door though, Louis realizes that he’s not alone in the room.

“So?” Liam questions eagerly, sitting on Louis’ desk and almost bouncing with energy.

“Shit,” Louis breathes, touching a hand to his forehead.

“Is that a good shit or a bad shit?” Zayn asks from where he’s sitting in Louis’ chair behind Louis’ desk.

“Zayn, what have I told you about the _chair_!?” Louis exclaims, thankful for a momentary distraction.

Zayn scoffs and gets out of the chair, walking up to Louis while smirking. “I know you’re trying to change the subject, Tomlinson,” he chuckles.

“Well it ain’t gon’ work,” Liam declares as he waddles over to the other two.

Louis snorts. “Just because you live in America now _doesn’t_ mean you’re allowed to speak like that.”

“Oh yeah?” Zayn challenges. “Well just because you’ve lived in America _longer_ than us doesn’t mean you’re allowed to boss us around.” He pouts as he snaps his fingers in z formation.

“No boys,” Louis grins devilishly. “I’m allowed to boss you around because I am your _boss._ Remember? I hired you homeless tits last year?”

“For the record, we were never _homeless,_ ” Liam grumbles, thick eyebrows furrowing adorably.

“ _For the record,”_ Louis imitates, pinching Liam’s cheek. He walks to his desk and collapses in his swivel-chair, spinning around once. “Guess who’s gonna be the head representative of J&J’s New York branch at the business summit in Londonnnn,” Louis singsongs quickly, buzzing with excitement now that he’s finally telling his best friends.

“No fucking way,” Liam and Zayn both chorus, jaws dropping.

“Yeah way!” Louis squeals.

“Louis,” Liam breathes, clearly shocked. “That’s—that’s amazing!”

“Holy fucking shit!” Zayn shrieks. “You did it, mate! You fucking _did_ it!”

Louis buries his face in his hands. “Shit, I just.” He takes a deep breath, eyes brimming with tears. “I never thought I’d get this far.”

“I fucking told you!” Liam exclaims. “I _told_ you that you would conquer Wall Street someday!”

Louis chuckles, shaking his head in amazement. “I can’t believe this.”

Liam and Zayn each take a seat on the chairs in front of Louis’ desk. “You need to call your mum,” Liam says, eyes bright with excitement.

“And Niall and Shelby,” Zayn adds, grinning.

“And—“ Liam starts. But before he can finish his sentence he bites his lip. “Never mind.”

Louis gulps. He knows what Liam was about to say and the fact that he even thought it after all these years stings a little bit. Louis doesn’t know why –but that doesn’t stop his heart from aching all of a sudden.

He clears his throat. “Fuck,” he says, shaking his head again because he still can’t quite believe what is happening. “This is like, the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Zayn quirks an eyebrow. “I thought that was being crowned Manhattan’s _Most Eligible Bachelor_?”

“Okay this is the _second_ best thing that has ever happened to me,” Louis corrects.

Liam laughs, looking down at his watch. His eyes grow large when he sees the time. “Crap. Zayn and I are late for a meeting!”

Zayn looks at his own watch and sighs. “No we’re not Liam. We’ve got five minutes!”

Liam looks panic-stricken. “Well what if we can’t catch the elevator or something? Like what if it broke and—“

“Liam,” Louis coos. “I just used the elevator and it’s _fine._ But I suppose you two should go, yeah? If you’re late, I might have to fire you.” Louis grins and winks.

Zayn flips him the bird as he and Liam walk out the door.

“I’m happy I hired you too, assholes!” Louis calls after them. He tries not to laughs when his floor’s secretary raises her index finger to her lip, staring him down.

Stupid glass walls and doors.

***

The rest of the day passed by pretty uneventfully. After getting caught up on his work, he had taken Liam and Zayn to meet with Lucy and Ron and their respective teams. Together, they had come up with an outline of their presentation and as the work-day reached its end, the group decided to meet up some other time to discuss their presentation in more detail.

Louis had skipped out on Liam and Zayn’s offer to get some drinks since he had a date to be going on.

As soon as he got home, Louis had taken a shower and changed into his pajamas. Then, after turning on his laptop, he went to grab himself a bowl of cereal.

Now, as he sits in front of his MacBook, waiting for Skype to load, he smiles to himself because he had an absolutely brilliant day. When he finally signs in and requests a video call with Shelby, he’s already grinning from ear to ear.

“Lou!” Shelby squeaks excitedly, causing Louis to grin even bigger. “Look at you, all beautiful and golden!”

“Speak for yourself,” Louis laughs brightly. “You’re positively _glowing._ I can’t believe being a mum really does that to you!”

“Oh it _does,_ ” Shelby sighs, awe-struck almost. “My skin feels all nice now _and_ my boobs have gotten bigger!”

Louis makes a gagging sound. “TMI Shebe. Speaking of babies, where is yours!?”

Shelby lifts her laptop and places it in her lap, and now that Louis’ gotten a chance to see her close up, she really _does_ look as though she’s glowing. Her eyes are very obviously gleaming with love for her new child and her smile looks as though she is constantly bemused. Louis decides right then and there that he is so _grateful_ that things worked out for Shelby and Niall. He loves seeing his best friend look so happy.

“Julia? Oh she’s with Niall right now. He was changing her but they should be coming along now any minute!”

“I’ve seen pictures of her, like, three million times _and_ I’ve Skyped with you guys so much yetI _still_ am so bloody excited to see her again,” Louis gushes.

Shelby chuckles. “Relax, Lou. You’re gonna drop your cereal.”

Louis looks down in his hands at the cereal that is sloshing around in his bowl. He blinks. “Oh. Right. Totally forgot I even had this.” He brings a heaping spoonful of the sweet Fruit Loops to his mouth and moans. “Mmm.”

Shelby wrinkles her nose in disgust. “How many times have I told you to—“

“Niall!” Louis yells like a maniac. “Niall, get in here and keep your wife from giving me the organic food talk again!”

Shelby huffs out a breath and crosses her arms over her chest. “When you all die twenty years before me _then_ we’ll see who’ll regret not eating healthy.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “That would never happen. There has never been a study that—“

“Oh look it’s Niall and Julia,” Shelby interrupts, looking relieved.

“How rude,” Louis grumbles.

Shelby moves the laptop so Niall and the baby can be seen in the frame too. Louis coos when he sees his little goddaughter in her father’s arms.

“Julia,” Louis coos. “Hello darling! How is my favorite baby today? Have mummy and daddy been causing any trouble? D’you need me to come rescue you sweetums?”

“Okay now _that’s_ rude,” Shelby says, biting into an apple. Louis crosses his eyes and sticks his tongue out at her when she’s not looking.

Niall howls, and Julia doesn’t even stir in his arms. “Y’alright, Tommo?”

“Fine mate, what about yourself?” Louis asks through another bite of cereal.

“Tip top!” Niall all but screams.

“How is your baby _immune_ to Nialler’s loud ass voice already!?” Louis mumbles.

“Shh!” Shelby scolds. “No inappropriate language in front of the baby!”

“Oh, you mean ass?” Louis says, licking his lips and cocking his head to the side. “Assassassassassassass—“

“I hate you,” Shelby pouts.

“So guess what, guys!” Louis says, ignoring Shelby’s previous comment.

“What?” The couple choruses.

“I’m coming to London for J&J’s business summit!”

“No way!” Niall grins. “Amazin’, Lou!”

“Aww I’m gonna get to see you again!” Shelby says through a voice filled with emotion. “You get to meet your goddaughter!”

“I do!” Louis exclaims, eyes brimming with tears. “D’ya hear that, Jules? I’m gonna meet you very soon!”

The baby stirs in Niall’s arms, and Louis tries to choke back a sob.

“So who’s coming with you?” Shelby asks after Niall has taken Julia to her room to put to sleep.

“Umm, just some of my team. I don’t think Zayn and Liam will be coming though.”

“Bummer,” Shelby comments. She bites her lip and hesitantly starts, “Hey. What about Ryan?”

Louis swallows another bite of cereal, furrowing his eyebrows with confusion. “What _about_ him?”

“Oh, y’know,” Shelby says, fidgeting with the sleeve of her jumper. “I know you said you’re not _dating_ but I just thought that—“ Shelby pauses, and then shakes her head. “Never mind. S’dumb.”

“No no,” Louis bites his lip. “What did you think?”

Shelby sighs. “I just thought you might be bringing him here to meet your mum or something and—“

Louis cackles. “What? Why would you _ever_ think that?”

Shelby swallows thickly. “I just—you’ve talked about him a lot and really, Lou, you’re not obligated to tell me who you’re dating and stuff. But I just assumed—“

“Shelby,” Louis says, trying to fight laughter. “Really, like. Trust me. I’m _not_ dating him. He’s only a friend and we only shag when we’re both single and he’s a good shag and all, don’t get me wrong, but—“ Louis makes a face and places his bowl of cereal on the floor. He rubs his eyes and smiles at Shelby. “I haven’t had time for dating,” he says in a weak voice.

Shelby looks at Louis with large, sad eyes. “Oh Lou,” she says, lip quivering.

“Oh Lou is right,” Louis says as a single tear rolls down his cheek. “How pathetic, can’t even get over a fucking high school crush—“

“Don’t say that,” Shelby says steadily as she wipes at her eyes. It’s no use though, as tears keep escaping her beautiful baby blues. And that makes Louis cry a little harder.

Louis pinches the bridge of his nose. But before he can say anything further, Shelby continues.

“What you had with—“ she sighs, “ _Harry_ was-- _special_ , Louis. Anyone with eyes could see that. And a part of me will always be upset with the two of you for not trying _harder.”_

“Look at us, Shelby,” Louis shakes his head. “He plays for Manchester fucking United and I’m an _accountant_ at J&J! We’re so different!”

“And that’s why you _work_.” Shelby declares firmly. Louis has never heard her speak with such an unwavering tone before.

“I’m tired of feeling like I’m still in love with him,” Louis says brokenly. “It’s been five fucking years and I haven’t been able to move on.”

“Well maybe you weren’t meant to,” Shelby says softly, shrugging.

***

“Got everything?” Ryan asks, handing Louis his duffle bag.

Louis takes the bag and places it on the floor. It’s hot and humid in New York City, and JFK Airport is as crowded as it was the day Louis got there, all that time ago. (Louis can’t believe he’s going back to London as New York City is his home now. Nevertheless, he smiles because now, he gets to go back to his childhood home a changed man. He gets to show his mum and his friends and his neighbors how much he has grown as a person. He gets to show people that, yes. Dreams do come true.)

Louis opens his backpack and cards through it quickly. “Passport, driver’s license, green card, cell phone, headphones, iPad, USB, hand cream, and chap stick.”

Ryan quirks an eyebrow. “Hand cream and chap stick? _Really_ , Lou?”

“Well it’s a long flight,” Louis grumbles. “Oh and my work stuff is in Suitcase One.”

Ryan sighs and shakes his hair out of his eyes. “Righty-o then. That it?”

Louis smiles. “Guess so.”

“C’mere,” Ryan says, opening his arms. Louis falls into them easily, like he’s done so many times before. (Ryan really has been a really great friend to him—the first Louis made in New York, in fact. He knows things will never get awkward between them, and he knows Ryan’s always got his back. It’s a nice thought to leave with, he thinks.)

Before Ryan lets go, he brings his mouth to Louis’ ear. “If you see him again, it’s meant to be. And you can’t let him go. D’you hear me?”

Louis gulps and nods, eyes getting misty. Clearing his throat, he nods and says, “Yeah.”

Ryan lets Louis go, finally. And as Louis walks through the airport—heck, even for the duration of his flight—Louis can’t seem to stop thinking the same five words, over and over again.

_Don’t think twice, it’s alright._

***

When Louis finally gets off the plane, he briskly walks to the meet up spot his mum had texted him.

The first thing he sees when he reaches the sign that says B6 is a gigantic sign that reads, “BOOBEAR TOMLINSON.”

Louis grins and runs to his mother, enveloping her in an almost bone-crushing hug. “I’ve missed you, mum.”

“Oh I’ve missed you too, baby,” Jay says softly as she cries.

(And Louis has flown his mum out to visit him in New York every 6-months for the past two years. And the three years before that, Jay would come ‘round yearly. But still, every time they reunite, it feels like they’re seeing each other after years. Because, sure: Jay is Louis’ mom but even more so, she is his best friend. And not being able to see your mom _and_ your best friend is _difficult_ for someone who is as codependent as Louis is.)

It’s only four in the afternoon at that point, so Louis turns to his mum in the car later and asks, “Any plans for the rest of the day?”

Jay frowns. “Lou, ‘m so sorry but I just _couldn’t_ get the day off and I should probably call in sick or something to work or—“

Louis chuckles. “Mum! It’s _fine._ Relax. You go to work and I’ll go have dinner with Niall and Shelby and Julia! We have two weeks to ourselves after my big meeting.”

Jay smiles softly. “I _do_ suppose it is important for you to go see your goddaughter. She _is_ quite adorable.”

Louis sighs dreamily. “I wanna have kids. What an odd thought.”

Jay shakes her head. “Hey, that’s not odd! You’ll have kids one day, Lou. Just after you’ve settled down like Shelby and Niall.”

Louis props his head against the warm window. _Settle down, settle down, settle down_ are the words ringing in his head.

And when he closes his eyes to try and shake the thought away, he can’t help but picture bright green eyes and beautiful unruly curls.

His heart aches and the dull, throbbing pain consumes him up until dinner.

***

Meeting up with Shelby and Niall was—tearful, to say that least.

When Louis spotted Shelby waiting outside the restaurant, he broke out into a run until he reached her. He then enveloped her in a hug so tight that he could barely breathe himself. They were both practically sobbing by the time Niall had to tear them apart. Apparently, they were causing a scene.

Louis hugged Niall and cried into his chest some more, feeling a wave of nostalgia drown him completely after seeing his friends in person after almost two years.

Then, when he finally saw little baby Julia, Louis thought he was going to lose it for good. He held on to her carefully, cuddling her close to her chest as a new steady stream of tears fell from his eyes. “She’s beautiful,” he whispered to Niall and Shelby like it was a secret. And as he turned to walk into the restaurant, he saw Niall bend down to chastely kiss Shelby’s lips in his periphery. The sight, as well as the bundle of joy in his arms, warmed his heart completely.

After baby Julia was in Niall’s arms and their food had been ordered, Louis finally leaned back in his seat and took a look around him. “Don’t think I’ve ever been to this place before,” he commented randomly.

Niall took a sip of his water. “It’s new. Harry’s favorite place. He recommended it to us.” As soon as the words left Niall’s mouth both he and Shelby paled. “Lou, I’m sorry I—“

Louis shook his head and laughed. “He’s not Voldemort, Niall. You can say his name around me, don’t worry about it.”

“He won’t be here tonight anyway,” Niall said, licking his lips nervously. “Shebe, doesn’t he have a game tonight or something?”

Shelby bit her lip. “I’ve not tried to remember his schedule since I got pregnant, to be honest.”

Before Niall can reply to Shelby, though, their food arrives.

“You need to try a bit of everything,” Niall tells Louis as he points to the different dishes he wants to try. Shelby scoops up a bit from each of those dishes for Niall and he begins munching on his food, blissed-out look on his face and all. He lightly swinging a sleeping Julia in his other arm and really, it’s quite an endearing sight.

Shelby and Louis get a start on their meal too, keeping up a steady conversation. They’re almost completely done when all of a sudden, there are dozens of flashes outside the restaurant.

“Is there a thunderstorm today?” Louis wonders aloud, quirking an eyebrow. He looks over to the front door as it opens and completely misses the horrified looks on both Shelby and Niall’s faces.

But, what he doesn’t miss is Harry Styles walking into the same restaurant that the three are dining at.

And he doesn’t miss the utter _shock_ on Harry’s face when their eyes meet from across the room.

“Shit,” Niall breathes. Shelby smacks his arm and takes a long sip from her glass of wine.

Before anyone can assist Harry at the “Please Wait Here to be Seated” sign, he rushes over to Niall, Shelby, and Louis’ table.

“Are my eyes deceiving me or is that Louis Tomlinson?” Harry all but whispers. His face has gotten considerably paler since he walked in but Louis’ heart clenches when he notices that Harry looks pretty much the same. He’s still got his curls, and his dimples are probably hiding. His muscles are still slightly visible courtesy of the tight shirts he likes to wear, and his eyes are green as ever, filled with some unreadable emotion.

Louis licks his lips and clears his throat. He’s still speechless though; he feels as though he’s trapped inside a metal box which loses a chunk of the air in it every second. He feels like there are walls crumbling down around him.

“I—“ Louis says. “I—Harry,” he finally manages to stutter.

“How’ve you been, Lou?” Harry asks. He sounds genuinely concerned, and there’s emotion dropping from every single word. It’s one of the things Louis used to most admire about him.

“’m fine,” Louis smiles lightly. “What about you?”

“Been better,” Harry chuckles.

“Excuse me? Mr. Styles?” Says a waiter who is looking curiously between Louis and Harry. “Erm, would you like me to set you a seat here?”

“Oh no, I didn’t mean to impose, I was just—“

Louis takes a deep breath, remembering Ryan’s words. “Harry. Please, I insist. Sit with us!”

Harry bites his lip, cheeks pinking. He just shrugs at the waiter, who scurries off to find him a chair.

“ManU, huh?” Louis asks with bright eyes after Harry has taken a seat next to him.

Harry grins. “Yeah, it’s no big deal. I’m not a billionaire Wall Street worker or anything.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “Money ain’t everything, child.”

Harry chuckles. “It was your dream! So I’m proud of ya.”

Louis blushes, looking down at his empty plate. “I’m proud of you too, Harry.”

Shelby and Niall continue to watch on, bemused.

“So Harry,” Louis says after a little while. “Are you gonna order?”

Harry laughs. “Actually, I only came here to pick up delivery. I usually just eat at home.”

Unsurprisingly, Julia picks that exact moment to start squirming around. Shelby tries to quiet her down but that only leads to Julia shrieking, crying so hard that everyone in the restaurant turns to look over at their table accusingly.

Niall and Shelby grab their things. “Sorry, Lou,” Shelby says, frazzled. “I’ll see you tomorrow for breakfast at mine with your mum, okay?”

“Alright babe, see ya,” Louis calls after her, Niall having already gone with Julia. He sighs. “Guess I should go too.”

Harry looks crestfallen. He half heartedly suggests, “Hey, Lou? Wanna come over to mine for drinks so we can properly catch up?”

At this point, Louis supposes he’s not really got much to lose. He’s already spent so much of his time thinking of Harry that maybe spending time with him will do him some good, make all the pining and crying seem worthwhile, somehow. “Sure,” Louis shrugs.

Harry’s eyes grow thrice their normal size. “Really!?”

“Yeah,” Louis says, eyes narrowed. “Unless this is a trick or something.”

“Why would I trick you?” Harry asks, genuinely confused.

“Never mind that,” Louis bats Harry’s shoulder. How’d you get here? Car, plane, ship, walk…?”

Harry giggles, and his cheeks finally dimple properly, making Louis’ breath catch in his throat. “I walked.”

“Well then, I’ll drive you home,” Louis replies. It’s sort of embarrassing how breathless he sounds, and he just hopes Harry doesn’t make too much out of it.

***

Harry’s flat is _huge._

It’s spacious yet every inch of it is cluttered—which probably doesn’t make any sense but Louis thinks it anyway because, well. He’s tired and jetlagged.

The flat is all warm colors and warm scents and warm pictures and Louis loves it instantaneously.

“This is wonderful,” Louis says, sipping the red wine Harry gave him.

“It’s quite old. I really do think old wine tastes better.”

Louis shakes his head. “I meant _this,_ ” Louis smiles, gesturing between them and around them.

“Oh,” Harry squeaks, biting back a grin. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“Were you now?” Louis mocks, placing his wine glass down on the table. “Now come on, Harold! Give me the grand tour.”

Harry smiles fondly and takes Louis around his flat.

“I love it here,” Harry shares once they reach his room. “Not just my room, but. My flat.” He smiles down at his shoes. “Just wish it weren’t so empty, though,” he mumbles.

Louis swallows thickly and pokes Harry’s hard abs. “Aren’t you gonna open your room now and say, ‘This is where the magic happens?’” Louis wiggles his eyebrows.

Harry smirks. “I see. You want the full MTV cribs experience, eh?” He grabs Louis’ hand and puts on an exaggerated excited expression. Then, in a voice that sounds like an American teenage girl, he says, “Lou _is,_ look! This is where all the babies are made!”

“I don’t think that’s what they always mean by saying the magic thing.” Louis rolls his eyes but walks into Harry’s room nevertheless. It’s the biggest room in the house with a gigantic bed in the middle that looks absolutely _amazing_ to Louis at the moment. So he does the sensible thing.

He skips over to the bed and falls face first into it.

At the time, it felt like the right thing to do. The bed is as comfy as it looks, almost like it’s made out of clouds. As soon as Louis inhales the scent that is essentially _Harry,_ though, his senses go into overdrive. He’s hit with memories all of a sudden; memories of, how once upon a time, _his_ bed used to smell like Harry.

Louis feels the bed sink beside him. He steadily sits up and crosses his legs Indian style. Harry still lies before him and in that moment, Louis realizes that he’s got a hell of a lot to say.

“How do you come to terms with the fact that you quite possibly ruined your life?” Louis whispers. He knows Harry’s heard what he said because the taller boy’s body tenses immediately.

“Lou?”

“I mean, sure,” Louis continues. “I’ve accomplished my dream. But was that even a valid dream to have in the beginning? Shouldn’t I have set on my journey thinking that the only goal I could have was to be happy?”

“Aren’t you happy now though, Lou?” Harry asks. He sounds broken, like he already knows the answer; probably because he’d answer the same way.

“Living without you, Harry,” Louis starts. He has to pause himself to catch his breath; he doesn’t know what he’s saying anymore but he knows that this is what should’ve been said a long, _long_ time ago. “Living without you was like drowning. Every day I’d fall deeper into the water, with no hope of getting out.

“You shouldn’t have let me go that summer,” Louis sniffles. “I always knew that my life begun with you, and. And in some part of my brain I realized that my life would end with you too.”

Harry sits up then, scooting close to Louis. “You know why I’m happy you went away?” Harry asks.

“Why?”

“It’s because I now realize how much you _mean_ to me Louis. You were just—always _there_ before and I didn’t understand how alone, how empty and how broken, I would feel without you, and. Now I do and I don’t ever want to let you go.”

Louis laughs a watery laugh. “So then don’t.”

“I still love you, Lou,” Harry says earnestly, eyes shining with tears waiting to be shed.

“You never let me love anyone else, Harry. Its only ever been you.” Then, like a secret, Louis admits, “I still want to be with you.”

“Lou, what about your job? My job? Our different _lives_?” Harry asks nervously, lip quivering.

“Harry, I think I know now that if we want this to work—“ Louis grabs Harry’s hand in his and interlocks their fingers, noticing, once again, how perfectly they fit together, “We need to put our love before anything else.” Louis kisses Harry’s knuckles. “Are you willing to do that?”

“I was willing to do all of that the day you told me you love me,” Harry says breathlessly.

Louis smiles, biting his lip shyly. “What’re you waiting for, Harry? You gonna kiss me or what?”

“I’ll show you the magic that happens here, that’s for sure,” Harry giggles.

“Is that a promise?”

“Heck yeah.”

(Louis and Harry both knew somewhere, in the back of their minds, that they’d get back together the first time they were alone with each other. You can’t change the inevitable.)

***

When Harry wakes him up in the morning, Louis realizes that he should probably call his mum to let her know where he is. He may not be a teenager but his mum still worries about him like he is one.

“Harry!” Louis whines.  “I need to use your phone, babe.”

Harry gazes at him fondly from where he’s lying on the sofa, limbs splayed out. “Erm, I think it’s on the chest of drawers in my room.”

Louis smiles at Harry before briskly walking to Harry’s room--which proves to be a bit difficult, as he’s still very much sore from the on-goings of last night—before he slows down and makes his way to the chest of drawers, smirking at the disheveled appearance of the bed first. Then, he stands on his tip-toes to look for Harry’s phone. But instead, he finds two things that send him into a fit of hysterics.

The first thing Louis sees is a piece of paper which is quite rumpled and old-looking. It’s titled “Grocery List,” and is most definitely in Jay and Louis’ writing.

Thinking back, Louis can connect the paper to the exact day that Harry got it from him, as he remembers almost _everything_ about the time he spent with Harry.

It was the day of Harry’s party, when Harry had helped him find organic yogurt in the supermarket. And then, when Harry had left after Louis promised to be at his party, he took Louis’ list with him and—

_He kept it with him. All this time._

Louis gulps and take a deep breath through his nose. The second thing that is sitting on top of the chest of drawers is a broken, vintage looking  Superman action figure.

Except it’s not _vintage._ It’s _his._

“Hey Lou, I found my phone in the kitchen so here—“ Harry stops abruptly when he sees Louis peering over the top of the chest.

“Harry?” Louis croaks weakly. “You? You kept this since—“

Harry bites his lip. “Is it too creepy or something? Cos if it is I can totally put them away or—“

Louis bites back a sob and launches in to Harry’s arms. “You’re so wonderful, Harry. I’m so bloody lucky to have ever had you.”

Harry arms tighten around Louis’ waist. “Hey, Lou. You’ve had me since the day we met.”

Louis smiles into Harry’s chest. Then, he pulls back and looks into Harry’s eyes, searching. “How did you? The Superman?”

Harry blushes. “Okay, so like. You remember the day it was the Sports Awards at our school when I asked you to come to my party?”

Louis nods meekly, stomach turning.

“Well my mom and I were going through our old things the night before that day and—we found this doll. And like, I couldn’t get it out of my head because I _knew_ that I had switched toys with someone so this one wasn’t mine. But I just didn’t know _who_.”

Louis smiles a small smile.

“And then,” Harry says. “Then I walked into first period and the principal started talking about you and—and I _saw_ how shy you were, how much your body curled in around itself like you were seeking _protection_ or something from the world.” Harry bites his lip. “It was just the way you were when we were little.”

“So you remembered it was me and asked me to come to your party?” Louis asks, a bit skeptical.

Harry nods though. Then, “I don’t know if you know this Louis, but I. I fell for you _really_ fast. Really hard, too. I would get really sad sometimes when I left you, and I’d feel this sort of pain in my heart knowing that you were literally _right in front of me_ for _ages_ yet. I didn’t seem to notice you.”

“I’m glad that you did, though,” Louis says quietly. “Like, really glad.”

Harry beams and reaches out to intertwine his fingers with Louis’. “Me too.”

***

Harry and Louis both go to Shelby and Niall’s for breakfast that day.

They hold hands when they leave Harry’s house and—whatever if the paparazzi catch them.

When they enter their friend’s house, no one does a double take when they see Harry and Louis holding hands. It’s like everyone knew how things would work out between them _except_ Harry and Louis themselves.

Jay’s there. And Anne is there as well, surprisingly. Niall and Shelby and Julia are there. And when Harry and Louis enter too, they all feel like they’re a family; a very big, loving family.

***

 _Magnets,_ Louis thinks as he turns over in Harry’s bed to look at him.

Harry’s sleeping with a small smile on his lips. Louis cuddles in closer to him and thinks; _we were made to attract each other, to be together, to be_ one _. It’s written in the stars._

It’s fate. And you can’t change fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou sorrysorrysorrysorry iloveyouiloveyouiloveyou ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡


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